Road to a Master
by Fee-fi-fo-fum
Summary: What if Delia had stepped in and made sure that Ash was prepared for his journey? After all, what kind of mother will allow her only son to travel a dangerous world ill-prepared? Smarter Ash, more prepared Ash. A mix of the games and the anime. WARNING - Chapter 5 is M-Rated for violence and mentions of rape.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First story, please go easy on me.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to Pokemon. All I own is the games.**

Prologue

We start our story in the small, quaint region in Southern Kanto, known as Pallet Town. Not many people live here, and the main attraction of this town was the laboratory and residence of the regional professor of Kanto, known as Professor Oak.

Professor Oak was once a famed trainer, with powerful pokemon as his partners, like his starter Charizard, his Alakazam who is rumoured to be as powerful as the gym trainer Sabrina's Alakazam, and his Dragonite, who was rumoured to be as powerful as the champion Lance's Dragonite. He, of course, had many more powerful pokemon with him, but after a few years of training, he decided that pokemon battling wasn't something he enjoyed, and he found his calling as a pokemon researcher. He became famous all over the world for his ground-breaking breakthroughs related to pokemon, culminating in the pokedex, his greatest invention.

A pokedex is essentially a small device that functions as an encyclopaedia on pokemon. All one had to do was point it at the pokemon in question to get a brief description of the pokemon. Once a trainer had caught a pokemon, the pokedex can provide information on its gender, abilities, current move set, and potential moves the pokemon can learn. It is still new to the pokemon world, and the first batch of pokedex will be given to the new trainers starting their journey on the first of April.

Talking about a trainer starting his journey, we come to a teenage boy watching a pokemon battle between a Gengar and a Nidorino on his TV. His name is Ash Ketchum. He is a thirteen-year-old boy with black unruly hair and brown eyes. His eyes were following the battle with fascination, his keen mind absorbing the various strategies used by the trainers in the Indigo League. His eyes widened with excitement when Gengar used a psychic attack on the Nidorino and knocked him out of the battle. It was to this scene that his mother Delia Ketchum walked into the room.

Delia is an amber-eyed, auburn-haired woman in her early thirties. She had dreams of being a pokemon trainer herself but had to give them up to take care of Ash when he was born. She now runs the only restaurant in Pallet Town, known as Pallet House. On seeing Ash still awake, she said "Ash, shouldn't you be in bed by now? You don't want to oversleep tomorrow do you?"

"I know mom, but I'm just too excited to sleep right now. I just can't wait to start my journey tomorrow!" replied Ash, his face sheepish.

"I understand that honey. But you don't want to waste the efforts you've put in over the last few years by oversleeping now."

And effort he had put in. Ash still remembered the day quite clearly, even if it was almost three years ago. He had just come back from the summer camp held by Professor Oak for aspiring trainers.

FLASHBACK

"Hi honey, how was the camp?" Delia asked on seeing her son for the first time in more than a month.

"It was amazing mom! I saw so many new pokemon there! The assistants even had a mock battle there for us to experience the real thing! And I made a new friend named Serena, she was hurt by a Poliwag! And—"

"Slow down Ash," laughed his mother. "Take a breath, I'm can't understand when you're speaking so fast."

"Sorry," Ash sheepishly replied. "But it was so much fun. I mostly hung with Leaf and Jonathan, and Serena when she became our friend. All the other kids were fawning over that jerk, Gary Oak!" Leaf, Jonathan and Gary were Ash's neighbours and Gary was Professor Oak's grandson.

"Ash!" his mother scolded him. "Is this how I raise you? To use such words? And what's wrong with Gary? I thought he was your best friend?"

"He was, till three weeks ago! But he mocked my dream to become a pokemon master, saying it will never come true since the only one capable of becoming a pokemon master is the great Gary Oak," Delia could hear the sarcasm in Ash's words.

After pondering on her son's words for a while, Delia commented: "So is your dream of being a pokemon master worth your friendship with your best friend?"

"Of course, it is! From now on, we are rivals! But just you wait, I will definitely become a pokemon master!" Ash replied with passion burning in his eyes. It was at that moment that Delia knew that this was just not some childish dream, which she had assumed it was till now. It was what Ash truly wanted, his goal in life. And Delia knew that she would support him, help him, guide him to reach that goal. And she decided to start doing that now, with some tough love and brutal honesty.

"That's nice Ash, till now I had no idea that you were so passionate about your dream. I just assumed it was a childish fantasy," laughed Delia, with a hand rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "But," here her demeanour turned serious, and Ash knew he better listen to his mom, "I'm sorry to say this, I don't think you'll reach your dream."

"…" Ash opened his mouth, then closed it after a few seconds, not knowing what to say. He tried to avoid showing the hurt on his face, but he wasn't sure if he was successful.

"I'm not finished, Ash," his mother continued. "I don't think you can achieve your dream as you are right now. And if you think about it, you will realise the truth in my words."

"No! You're wrong!" Ash tried to protest vehemently but stopped when his mother raised her hand to cut him off.

"Oh really? Then tell me, how many pokemon are there in the world? Do you know the different types of pokemon? Do you know the strengths and weaknesses of each type of pokemon? Do you know what all moves a pokemon can learn? Do you know what to feed a pokemon, to give them a balanced diet essential for their growth? I don't need to continue, do I?

At each question his mother fired off, Ash's face fell further and further and he now he was barely restraining his tears. He started at a touch on his shoulder and looked up at his mom who had a similar teary expression on her face. He was wondering about that when his mother continued talking.

"You think it is easy for me to tell you all this?" his mother questioned. "But I had to. It's my duty to tell you this." At Ash's questioning look, she continued "A mother's happiness lies in her son's happiness. Nothing can make a mother happier than watching her son pursue his dreams, and eventually reach them. But she has to help him, and guide him till he reaches his goal," she told him gently and lovingly, all traces of her strict persona gone now.

"But… But," Ash will forever deny that he snivelled, "You just told me that I won't reach my goal. How is this guiding me?" Ash said, frustration and anger evident in his voice.

"How else was I supposed to get to you?" his mother questioned, her voice still gentle. "I knew that I couldn't just get you a book on pokemon to help you prepare for your journey. You hate studying, you probably would not have even opened the book I got you. I had to tell you this now, as you needed a wake-up call. Becoming a pokemon master is one of the toughest things to achieve in this world, you need to be prepared Ashy", his mother pleaded, hoping her son would understand why she said what she said, that he would learn, and most importantly, that he would forgive her for this.

FLASHBACK END

Ash remembered that conversation fondly. He couldn't believe he used to be so naïve to start a pokemon journey without any preparation whatsoever, something he was sure he would have done had his mother not sorted him out. He really did have the best mother in the world, he thought, his heart full of love for his mother.

He continued thinking of the aftermath of that conversation. Ash was upset for the rest of the day, thinking about the conversation with his mother. But he knew she was right. He was just not prepared. So, the next day, at the dining table while eating breakfast, he broke the awkward silence that had permeated the house since the conversation.

FLASHBACK

"Mom," he started, catching her attention, "I've been thinking of what you said." Here he grimaced before continuing, "and I know that every word you said is the truth. I'm just not prepared for my journey. But, I have three years for my journey to start, and I want to spend the three years studying whatever I can to achieve my dream."

"Oh, Ashy! I'm so glad you've decided that!" Delia said brightly. "Have you thought about how you will go about it?" she questioned.

"Well, I was just going to go to professor Oak's to ask him to teach me," Ash mumbled sheepishly, with his right hand rubbing the back of his head, a gesture he picked up from his mom when she was nervous.

"Oh, that's okay honey. As much I don't want to say it, I know that I cannot help you with your education on pokemon. I was never a trainer myself," she said with a downcast expression.

"That's alright mom! You're helping me however you can!" insisted Ash.

Delia smiled weakly at Ash before continuing, "Thank you, Ash. Anyway, I did speak to Professor Oak in the evening yesterday, after our conversation. He is expecting us now."

"Oh, is he? Why didn't you tell me before?" questioned Ash, before rapidly stuffing his mouth with food.

"Manners, Ash," laughed Delia. "Slow down, the professor isn't going anywhere."

END FLASHBACK

Later, Ash had spoken to Professor Oak, explaining his plight. Professor Oak just said that he was waiting for this day to come, and gave Ash an encyclopaedia of pokemon in Kanto region. And this is how his education started. Ash was astounded to know that there were seven hundred and twenty-one pokemon discovered in all six regions so far. And to think that he assumed that there were only a hundred or so pokemon before he started studying! He really was very naïve!

Ash started off with trying to remember the different pokemon along with their types. There are eighteen different types of pokemon that have been discovered, from the common normal type to the unique and exotic fairy type. Ash made it a goal to learn ten different pokemon every day, and was finished with learning about every pokemon discovered so far in two and a half months. He not only learned their names, he learnt their types, which type they were strong against, which type they were weak against, and their difficulty in getting them to listen to the trainer. Along with that, he learnt what food they ate, along with learning to cook for himself during the journey from his mother.

"Yes, I should prepare to go to sleep now," Ash said, snapping back to the present. "Have I ever thanked you for what you have done for me so far?" he questioned while looking at his mother.

"Oh honey, you never need to thank me for anything. I've always done my best for you because I love you. There's no need to thank me". Delia replied while smiling sweetly.

"I love you too mom" Ash replied while hugging her.

They embraced each other for a few seconds before Ash pulled back. "Can you think of what would have happened if you never had that conversation with me?" he questioned her.

"Oh, I can imagine. You probably would have angered an entire flock of Spearows on route one, and had to run for your life," his mother teased him gently.

"Haha, you're hilarious mom," Ash rolled his eyes. "But probably correct," he admitted grudgingly.

Delia laughed before prodding him to his room gently. "Sleep now, you have a long day tomorrow."

"Yes mom, going now," Ash grumbled good-naturedly. They reached his room where they saw his clothes hanging in the cupboard and a backpack on his bed.

"You've packed everything for tomorrow?" Delia questioned her son.

"Yes, mom! Everything is packed and ready to go! I've been planning for this for three years now, I'm ready!"

"Oh alright. I just worry. Have you set up your alarm?"

"Yes mom, all done."

"Okay then. Goodnight Ashy, I love you," she kissed him on his forehead, before prodding him to his bed, and tucking him in.

"Mooooom!" Ash whined. "I'm thirteen now! Stop this."

"This is the last I can do it for many months to come Ashy, allow me this," his mom pleaded. Ash saw his mom's expression and his eyes softened.

"It's okay mom. And don't worry, I'll call you from every pokemon centre alright!"

"I know Ashy. Sorry for getting all sentimental on you. Sleep now. Goodnight." And with that, Delia walked out of the room.

X-X-X

Beep….Beep….Beep….Beep….CRASH!

Ash hated getting up early in the morning, he really did. But he had cultivated the habit of doing so over the last three years. He knew that he had a lot to do every day of his journey. He had to travel from city to city on foot and train his pokemon, so he knew that he could not waste daylight by sleeping in. Travelling was best done in the natural light of the sun, for there were always chances of being ambushed by wild pokemon at night, where visibility was low. Thus, he started getting up at dawn every day for the last three years.

Groaning as he got up, Ash blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He yawned widely while stretching, and went to the washroom to brush his teeth and freshen up. Doing so, he went outside his house for his daily jog. This was another habit he got himself into. He knew that being on the road daily and travelling place to place would be taxing on his body, so he started exercising daily to keep his body fit for travel. As he jogged, he once again marvelled at the scenery around his town. Pallet Town was a small village and was surrounded by greenery, which made his jog quite refreshing. After jogging for an hour or so, he went back to his room to shower and change into the clothes he will wear on his journey. It consisted of a black t-shirt, blue jeans, with a blue and white jacket with gold trim, and his signature pokemon league hat.

While leaving his room, he was about to take his backpack but thought to go through it to make sure if he kept everything. His backpack had five compartments, and he had arranged his items accordingly. The first compartment was for his pokeballs. He currently had six on him, knowing that Professor Oak will give him more when he gets his starter. The second compartment was for medicines. Along with medicines for himself, he had ten potions, ten full heals, and ten revives. A bit much, but he was aiming to make them last till he reached Celadon City. The third compartment was for his TM Case; a gift his mother had given him on his thirteenth birthday. He had probably broken a rib or two of his mothers with the crushing hug he gave her when he saw the present. The fourth compartment was for his, and his pokemon's food. He currently was taking enough for ten days. He knew he didn't need that much, but he liked to keep extra in case of emergency. The last compartment was for his map as well as his fishing rod. The fishing rod was something he treated himself with, but he justified it by thinking that he needed it, and the fact that he hadn't bought something for himself for almost three years.

That was another thing he started after the talk with his mother three years ago. He was always given a monthly allowance which he spent on random stuff he thought looked cool, but he stopped doing that to save money for his journey. The Ketchums were never rich. They weren't poor, but they were never rich. So Ash saved all his allowance for three years and had collected quite a sum of money to help achieve his dream. He knew all the money would be spent on his pokemon, but he was fine with it.

Once done with rechecking his bag, he hoisted it and went downstairs where his mom laid made a veritable feast on the table. His mouth watered at the smell and he quickly started devouring is breakfast. While he had started eating like a regular human after his mom had almost beaten manners into him, he still consumed food fit for five people. Only when he was on his third helping did he realize that his mom was sitting on the table as well looking at him with a fond expression on her face.

"Oh hey mom, good morning. Thanks for the breakfast, it is amazing. You've outdone yourself today." Gushed Ash after swallowing his food.

"Oh you're welcome honey, it's the least I could do. After all, this is your last home-cooked meal for a while now."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you, mom?" questioned Ash with a smirk on his face.

"A lot of times Ash, but the sentiment is appreciated," laughed Delia. "So have you decided on your starter yet?"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure mom. All three pokemon are amazing, and all three turn into absolute monsters in their final evolution when trained right. I can't really differentiate between them at the moment."

"That's alright honey, you can always decide on the spot."

"Yes, I'll probably do that," Ash replied while glancing at the clock. "I should head out to the lab now mom, it's getting late. I'll come back home to pick up my backpack after I get my starter."

"Okay honey, take care. Best of luck," his mother replied while giving him a kiss on the cheek and clearing the table.

Ash made his way to Professor Oak's laboratory at a leisurely pace while ruminating over which pokemon he would capture, and how he would begin his journey. He had already booked a poke-transport from Viridian City to Fuchsia City for a week from today. This would give him a week to train and bond with his starter and any pokemon he will catch before leaving.

Poke-transport was such a boon. It was an initiative started by the gym leader of Saffron City, Sabrina. Sabrina was a master of psychic type pokemon and had a lot of pokemon among the Abra line. Abra and its evolutions have perfected the art of teleporting, and Sabrina uses that ability to provide intercity transport for a fee. The price ranged from relatively cheap if booked months in advance, to extremely costly if booked on the spot, if any was available. The poke-transport works every half hour, and there are only a limited amount of pokemon available at a time to teleport. Even with these restrictions, the poke-transport service is very popular.

Ash wanted to start his journey by visiting the Safari Zone. The Safari Zone was a preserve for wild pokemon, and so, trainers were not allowed to battle the pokemon there to capture them. Instead, the trainers were given special safari balls that had a higher catch rate than normal pokeballs and could only capture a pokemon if the pokemon was willing to accompany the trainer on his journey. In short, it was perfect for a newbie trainer like Ash to give him a chance to add to his team at the beginning of his journey.

He knew that spending a week on bonding and training his starter pokemon and spending some more time in the Safari Zone would put him behind the rest of his competition who would no doubt head towards Pewter City to get their first badge. But Ash was fine with this. The League was more than a year away and Ash knew that not only would he would catch up, he would be better than them. He had that much faith in himself at least.

Ash started when he heard his name being called. So lost in thought was he that he didn't realize that he had already reached the professor's laboratory. He looked up to see his friend Leaf waving at him. She was also dressed in her travelling clothes with a blue sleeveless t-shirt, a red skirt that came to her mid-thighs, and a hat. She had her bag strapped on already.

"Oh hey, Leaf. Ready to get your starter?" questioned Ash.

"I've been ready for ages Ash! I was so excited last night that I could barely sleep!" she exclaimed while hopping from foot to foot trying to control her excitement.

"Same here! Let's not prolong it further and meet the professor," said Ash while walking past Leaf and into the lab.

Ash ignored all the various devices in the lab, having already seen them many times, and too excited about getting his starter to even care. He saw Professor Oak along with two boys his age, his friend Jonathan, and his rival Gary Oak.

"Oh look, the loser has come." Came the annoying voice of Gary. "I wonder why you even showed up, everyone knows that I only will become a pokemon master."

Ash gritted his teeth but said nothing. He normally would have risen to his rival's jibes, but not today. He didn't want him getting a starter to be delayed any further.

"Now, now Gary. We're all friends here." Came the disapproving voice of his grandfather, Professor Oak. Gary just huffed and mumbled out an apology which I ignored. The professor just shook his head and beckoned us to a table that had three pokeballs on it. Once everyone was there he started his introduction.

"Today you four are going to start your journeys and like every trainer, you will receive a Starter. You can choose Charmander," while pointing to a ball with a sticker of fire on it, "or Squirtle," while pointing to a pokeball with a sticker of a tear drop on it, "or Bulbasaur," while pointing to a pokeball with a sticker of a leaf on it. "As you can see, there are four of you and only three pokeballs, so I ask one of you to voluntarily step forward and take another Starter." He finished while looking at the four children.

No one moved. We all started at each other hoping that someone would volunteer. After thinking it through, Ash stepped forward and said, "I'll do it." And while he was slightly disappointed by not getting one of the Kanto starting three, he would be fine. He had researched the various fire, water, and grass type pokemon available in the Kanto region as he didn't know which starter he would get and he knew that he could catch and train a pokemon to be as powerful as a Venusaur, a Blastoise, and a Charizard. Plus, he knew that whatever pokemon Professor Oak gave him would be as powerful as the Bulbasaur, the Charmander, and the Squirtle he gave the other three.

Professor Oak gave Ash a big smile and continued talking. "Thank you, Ash. Now that that's decided, shall we continue? I think Leaf should get the first pick, after all, it's ladies first."

Gary looked like he was going to protest but a look from his grandfather shut him up. Leaf skipped forward and said "I already know which pokemon I want. Bulbasaur, I choose you!" with that she released Bulbasaur and knelt down next to it. She quickly greeted it and stood up while hugging it to her chest. The Bulbasaur looked quite pleased with his trainer if its expression was saying anything.

Gary rushed forward and picked up the pokeball with the tear drop on it and released it and nodded in satisfaction when he saw the Squirtle. Jonathan meanwhile was happy, since he wanted the Charmander anyway, and was happily greeting it.

"We're not done yet, children! Along with your Starter, you will also get five pokeballs from me. Remember that the league rules state that you cannot carry more than ten pokemon with you at a time. To carry more, it has to be approved by me or a League official!" This rule had been made along with the rule for making the starting age for trainers to be thirteen instead of ten. The League thought that the trainers were now mature enough to handle ten pokemon at a time. Of course, the condition of the pokemon was checked at every pokemon centre and the regional professor when a pokemon was sent to the lab. If they found that a trainer is unable to handle ten pokemon at a time, this privilege will be revoked.

The professor handed the four of them their pokeballs, along with a small red device that everyone knew to be the pokedex. After receiving these items, Gary, Leaf, and Jonathan left.

The professor turned to Ash and said "I really appreciate this Ash. I hope you're as satisfied with your starter as the others were. Since you voluntarily stepped forward, I will let you choose your starter from among the three other pokemon I have with me."

With that, he released three pokemon that Ash recognized to be a male Nidoran, a Growlithe, and a Pikachu. All powerful pokemon when trained right. However, as soon as Ash looked at the Pikachu, he felt a connection. A connection telling him that he had found a partner, a best friend, someone who would stick with him through thick and thin. And he knew that he had found his starter.

He looked at Professor Oak and said, "I've decided, Professor. I choose Pikachu as my starter if he is willing to come with me."

"You've decided already?" came the surprised reply from Professor Oak. "I assumed that you would speak with them at the very least before deciding."

"I thought so too, Professor. But something is telling me to choose Pikachu, like a gut feeling."

"Is it? Strange," replied Professor Oak as he looked at Ash inquisitively, as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

Ash ignored this and turned to Pikachu and knelt down to his height and said, "Hi Pikachu. My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm starting my journey today. My aim is to be a pokemon master and to do so, I will train my pokemon really hard so that they can become the strongest pokemon in the world. I'm not going to lie, my training will be hard, it will be gruelling, but it will be immensely rewarding. In addition to that, I want my pokemon to become my family. As my starter, you and I will have the closest bond among my pokemon and I will look to you for setting an example for the rest of the pokemon I capture," he finished, passion brimming in his eyes.

As Ash was talking, he saw that the Pikachu had a spark in his eyes as he listened to Ash's speech. The spark which said that he wanted to become strong, to become the very best, the same spark which Ash had when he thought about his dream. And he knew that his gut feeling was right, Pikachu would be a perfect starter. He held out a hand to Pikachu and asked, "Will you accompany me on my journey?"

The Pikachu sniffed Ash's hand. Ash knew what it was doing. Pokemon had a strong sense of smell and the Pikachu could detect a few things from his scent. Exactly what it is, is a topic of debate. Some say that the pokemon can detect lies, some say they can detect emotions, no one really knows for sure. It also varied from pokemon to pokemon. For example, Growlithe had the strongest sense of smell. Right now, Ash knew that Pikachu was trying to verify Ash's claims. He must have found what he was looking for as with a loud Pika, he nuzzled his head into Ash's arm, getting a small, gentle smile from him.

He turned to Professor Oak with the smile still on his face, and said, "Looks like Pikachu agrees to be my starter, Professor."

"Indeed, it does. You handled that very well, Ash." Professor Oak nodded his approval. "Anyway, you should start on your journey now my boy. You don't want the others to get too much of a head start do you?"

"Yes, I'll be on my way Professor. Thank you for everything you've done for me over the last three years. I don't even want to imagine where I could have been without you."

"It was my pleasure, Ash. I'll be looking out for you and Gary at this year's conference. I know you two will go far. You both have tons of potential."

"Thank you, Professor. That means a lot coming from you! See you! Return Pikachu," he said while pointing his pokeball at Pikachu. A red light went towards the Pikachu which it dodged frantically. "Huh, you don't like being in the pokeball, do you Pikachu?"

" **Pika!** " the Pikachu exclaimed while shaking his head vehemently, and then giving the pokeball a distasteful look.

"That's alright Pikachu, you don't have to go inside the pokeball if you don't want to," Ash assured him. "You can just walk alongside me." Pikachu shook its head again and hopped up Ash's body and settled on his shoulders. "You want to ride on my shoulders?" Ash asked in surprise getting an energetic Pika in response from his starter. "Okay then. Come on!" Ash shouted enthusiastically while waving a goodbye to Professor Oak.

They left the lab and walked back to Ash's home so that he could say goodbye to his mother. While walking, Ash kept a running stream of commentary as he told Pikachu whatever came to mind. He was sure that he was babbling at some point, but it was fine. He wanted to develop his bond with Pikachu to the level he had seen between some of the elite trainers and their pokemon. After all, Pikachu and the rest of his pokemon were going to become family to him.

As his home came into view, Ash saw his mother standing outside with his bag in her hands. She had a fond smile on her face as she saw Ash talking animatedly with his starter. Once Ash got closer to his mother, he greeted her with a cheery "Hey, Mom! This is Pikachu, my starter!"

" **Pika** ," waved Pikachu happily from his position on Ash's shoulder.

"Oh, my Arceus! He is so cute!" squealed Delia. So overtaken by the cuteness of Pikachu, she immediately pulled him into a hug.

"Mom, stop! You're squeezing too hard!" shouted Ash frantically having experienced his mother's rib-breaking hugs when she was excited about something.

"Sorry, sorry," said an embarrassed Delia as she released a dazed Pikachu from her hold. "It was nice to meet you Pikachu. You take good care of my son, will you?"

" **Pika Pi** ," replied Pikachu with a thumbs up, having recovered from Delia's enthusiastic hug.

"Here's your backpack Ash," said Delia while holding out his backpack to him. "You should be on your way, daylight's wasting."

"Thanks, Mom!" replied Ash, while wearing his backpack. "I'll miss you." Finished with wearing his backpack, he gave his mother a huge hug.

"I'll miss you too Ashy!" his mother replied while hugging him back just as hard. "I have a present for you before you leave." She took out a small box and handed it to Ash. He opened it curiously and saw that it was small and was a compact-disc-shaped device. It was yellow and appeared to be able to open up. It was made of a smooth material and had a large, light blue button in the centre. He looked at his mother for an explanation.

"This is a PokeNav. It was developed by the Devon Corporation in the Hoenn region. It has many features which I'll leave you to explore, but I'm giving it to you because it functions as a video phone. I expect to hear from you at least once a week, do you understand me, young man!" Delia said mock-sternly while trying to keep her tears under control.

"Don't worry Mom! I'll definitely call you once a week! I'll miss you a lot! I love you!"

"I love you too sweetie. Now, get going and don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Ash nodded and started walking towards route one, which would lead him to Viridian City. While walking, he heard his mother shout "And don't forget to change your underwear" at the top of her lungs. Ash just cringed but continued walking with Pikachu laughing his ass off on Ash's shoulders.

Ash shook his head to clear off his embarrassment. This was one of those times where the last few seconds would go to the ' _this never happened, it was just a bad dream'_ part of his mind. He turned to Pikachu and asked, "You ready buddy? Our journey to the top starts now."

" **Pi Pikachu**!" replied his starter, the determination in his eyes matching those of his trainer's. They were ready. They will become the best, and nothing would stop them.

 **A/N: So this is the prologue of my story. Anyway, please review, let me know how I am doing and where I can improve. I don't have a beta, so there will be some errors. I've tried my best to eliminate them, but some may still exist. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers will be ignored. If you don't like this story, you are welcome to quit reading.**

 **This Ash is older and more mature than canon Ash, so he will be OOC. As I have mentioned in this chapter, Ash will be visiting the Safari Zone in the next chapter. If you guys have any particular pokemon you guys want Ash to catch, please mention it. I may add the pokemon depending on how it fits with the rest of the team I have planned.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the follows, favourites, and the reviews. As this is my first story, I did not expect even half of this. You guys are the best.**

 **Disclaimer: Do I need to do this for every chapter? I don't own pokemon.**

Baby Steps

Ash and Pikachu were currently on route one, heading towards Viridian City. Ash was humming happily as he saw the different pokemon on the route. He didn't want to capture a pokemon right now as he wanted to build up a bond with his Pikachu before doing that. Pikachu was his starter, thus, he would be an example to the other pokemon about the kind of the trainer that Ash is. And Ash wanted his pokemon to become his family. A strong bond with Pikachu would exemplify that.

They came across a clearing, and Ash decided to stop for now. He had a week to get to Viridian City, and he wanted to get to know his starter better. He turned to Pikachu and said, "Hey buddy, we're going to be stopping here for a while. I want to get some training in before we reach Viridian City, and this would also allow us to get to know each other better."

The route between Pallet Town and Viridian City was the best place to have an isolated training session. Pallet Town was small and didn't have may tourist attractions other than Professor Oak's laboratory. As a result, trainers rarely travelled to Pallet Town. The only ones who did were newbie trainers who wanted their starters or experienced trainers who had Professor Oak as a sponsor and wanted to visit their pokemon which were in the Professor's ranch. The newbie trainers had already left today and experienced trainers either flew or used teleport. So the route between Pallet Town and Viridian City would be free of any trainers, allowing Ash and Pikachu to have an extended and uninterrupted training session.

He pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at his Pikachu, who was looking on curiously. "This is a pokedex. It will allow me to know your current moves, your ability, and will also help me teach you new moves. I'm going to scan you now, okay?"

" **Pi Pikachu**."

 **Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pichu. It has small electric sacs on both its cheeks. If threatened, it looses electric charges from the sacs. This Pikachu is male and has the ability static. NOTE: His hidden ability lightning rod has been unlocked. This Pikachu knows the moves Tackle, Thundershock, Quick Attack, Growl and Tail Whip. This Pikachu knows the egg move volt tackle, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

"Wow Pikachu, your hidden ability has already been activated. That's amazing!" exclaimed Ash happily. All pokemon had one ability depending on the species of pokemon, but some of them had a hidden ability that activated under special circumstances. It was a rare phenomenon and Ash was excited that his starter had such an ability.

" **Pikachu!** " the Pikachu puffed his chest out proudly.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do. I'm going to assess where you are right now and how much you've perfected your moves. Once I have an idea, we'll stop for lunch. How does that sound?"

" **Pikapi Pi Pikachu** ," Pikachu nodded his approval of the plan.

"Alright! Let's see how much stamina you have. Pikachu, you see that tree over there?" He pointed to a tree about 200 yards away. "I want you to run to that tree and back as fast as you can without using quick attack. Repeat till you drop!"

" **Pika!** " he exclaimed his acknowledgement and started his exercise. Six minutes and forty-seven seconds later, the Pikachu was ready to stop, but Ash encouraged him to keep going. After another minute or so, he was ready to drop. His muscles were screaming at him for the abuse they were put under, and Pikachu was having troubles to even stand.

"Hmm, your base speed is not bad, it's much higher than I assumed it will be. It can still improve, though. Your stamina is poor, that's one of the things we'll have to prioritize."

" **Pikachu** " he huffed, not liking that statement.

"What? You know it's true! You just lasted seven minutes!"

" **Pikapi Pi Pika Pi Pikachu** ," the Pikachu said while shaking his head and sparking his cheeks with electricity to get his point across.

"You're saying that we should not prioritize stamina more than learning more powerful moves, is that what you're saying? Asked Ash hoping he understood what Pikachu was trying to say.

" **Pika!** " He exclaimed while nodding his head.

"Hmm, how do I explain myself?" Ash pondered for a minute, trying to put his thought process in words. "You've just fought in the wild before, right?" Ash waited for Pikachu's nod. "In the wild, you fight just one pokemon at a time, and the battle ends in a few seconds, sometimes lasting a couple of minutes. After that, you can rest, am I right so far?" Again, he waited for Pikachu's nod. "Well, you will rarely fight wild pokemon now! You will fight trained pokemon who are sometimes so weak that you can defeat them with your weakest move, and sometimes so powerful that you cannot even put a scratch on them with your most powerful attack! Plus, most trainer battles involve three or more pokemon. With your stamina as low as it is currently, even if you defeat your first opponent, you will be so tired that you cannot put up a fight against your second one. Now do you understand the need for physical conditioning?"

" **Pika** " the Pikachu admitted grudgingly. It looks like his trainer knows what he is doing.

"Don't worry Pikachu, I will help you learn new moves as well. I plan on having two training sessions a day, and I will definitely use one of them to teach you new moves. Okay, buddy?" Ash reassured his starter while softly petting his head earning a coo from him. After sitting like this for a few minutes, he continued. "Now, how about we see the status of your current moves? Think you've rested enough?" At Pikachu's answering nod, he said "Alright, let's do this. I have no idea how to see the effects of your growl and tail whip attacks, so we'll just have to wait for an actual battle to test them out. Now, I want you to use quick attack to that tree and back."

" **Pika** " the Pikachu bounded off as a yellow blur, appearing as a yellow streak.

"Not bad. As we improve your base speed, I'm guessing your speed in quick attack will also improve. If we improve it to a high enough level, maybe you can even learn extreme speed!"

" **Pikachu**!" the Pikachu exclaimed giddily at the thought of the powerful move.

"Alright then. I want you to keep using quick attack around the clearing. Don't go in a straight line. Go about it in a zigzag pattern as if you are dodging an attack, then stop and turn around sharply and continue. I want to see how much you've mastered this move." As Pikachu was going about his task, Ash was making notes in his pokedex. Once satisfied that he had learnt all he could about the move, he called out to Pikachu.

"Alright, that's enough. Now, you see that boulder over there? I want you to use your hardest tackle attack on it." Humans would have to train their bodies for years before they thought about doing something like this, but the bodies of pokemon were much tougher than humans. As he saw the effects of the tackle attack, he made another note on his pokedex. "Okay, Pikachu, now the final attack before we stop for lunch. Use your most powerful thundershock attack at that boulder." A powerful bolt of electricity hit that boulder, much more powerful than what Ash was expecting. "Holy Arceus! That was one powerful thundershock Pikachu! That was amazing!" Ash exclaimed after he managed to pick up his jaw from the ground. By Mew, he had one powerful starter!

" **Pika Pikachu!** " The Pikachu exclaimed obviously proud of that attack. He had spent countless hours trying to make that move more powerful.

"You were great Pikachu. Let's stop for lunch now." And with that, Ash took out his cooking utensils and started making a lunch for the two of them. The food he made for Pikachu was one specialized for electric pokemon to help them develop properly. Ash made sure to sprinkle a couple of Oran Berries on top to help Pikachu recover some of his strength. That was the best he could do, any further specialization in food had to be done by pokemon breeders.

After eating, he told Pikachu his observations. "You have almost mastered your quick attack. You can dodge while in quick attack without losing speed, but abrupt changes in directions cause your problems. You lose your speed and end up quitting your quick attack before starting it again. We will have to work on that. In addition to that, your tackle attack is mastered. We can only improve that by improving your base strength. Your thundershock is more than mastered, we don't need any work there." The Pikachu nodded along agreeing with most of what his trainer said. "For the rest of the day, we will continue mastering your quick attack. I will only teach you new moves once you've mastered your existing ones. Is that agreeable with you Pikachu?"

" **Pika** " nodded the Pikachu accepting the logic in his trainer's words. For the rest of the day, they worked on quick attack. It was frustrating at first before Ash had him start making sharp turns at his lowest speed to get a feel for the movement needed. This helped, and by the end of the day, Pikachu had made slight progress into his mastery of quick attack. With the knowledge of how to go about his training, he would probably need another day or two to complete his mastery, but both trainer and pokemon were satisfied with his progress. Now, they lay in Ash's sleeping bed making their final preparations of sleeping.

"Hey buddy, we're going to stay at this spot for the next few days." At Pikachu's curious gaze and his murmured pika, Ash elaborated, "I want to train you further before moving ahead with my journey. You are my starter, and as such, I expect you to be a leader to the rest of the pokemon I catch. Think you can do that for me?"

" **Pika Pikachu!** " murmured Pikachu while nodding his head.

"Thanks, buddy. I knew I could count on you." With that, Ash reached out his hand and put it on Pikachu's head. Getting no protest from his starter, Ash pets his Pikachu getting a soft Chaaaa from him. With that, both drifted off to sleep with a content smile on their faces.

And thus, the rest of the week went by. The first day was spent only on Pikachu fully mastering quick attack, and they had accomplished that goal even by Ash's high standards. After that, a routine was made. Pikachu spent the day from breakfast till lunch on improving his stamina and getting fitter. They worked on Pikachu's base speed as well as his strength.

To improve his speed, Ash had Pikachu first run around the clearing for half an hour. This helped Pikachu build his stamina as well as strengthen his core, thereby allowing Pikachu to get faster while training. Then, Ash had Pikachu do sprints while in his base speed from one point to another, and repeat the same while using quick attack.

After this session was over, Ash had Pikachu lift some rocks with his tail to strengthen it. This would be useful to teach Pikachu iron tail later on, a move that is an absolute must for Pikachu to give it a move that can work against rock and ground type pokemon. Ash was planning on teaching Pikachu iron tail before they reached Pewter City since as of now, Pikachu had no chance against Brock's pokemon.

The afternoon was spent trying to learn new moves. Ash knew that Pikachu had a lot of electric power as shown by his thundershock, but the control wasn't what it should be. To counter that, Ash had Pikachu learn thunder wave. The move worked by releasing a small stream of concentrated electric current that causes the receptors from the brain to the muscles to be overstimulated, causing the body to be unable to move. This move caused no other damage, which is why Pikachu needed such fine control over his electric output.

Learning the move was beneficial for Pikachu, not only to help him control his electrical output, but it was a move that could change the tide of the battle. A paralyzed foe can barely move, Pikachu, with his speed, can tear a paralyzed opponent apart. It would also make catching pokemon much easier since a paralyzed pokemon struggles less when trying to break out of the pokeball.

So far, Pikachu was struggling to learn the move as he was always overpowering it. The move was coming out as a weak thundershock rather than as a thunder wave. The paralyzing effects were random rather than a certainty, as needed for the thunder wave attack. But, with constant effort and gentle encouragement from Ash, he could release a successful thunder wave eight times out of ten. Not even close to mastering by Ash's standards, but he was getting there.

A week in, and Ash and Pikachu were on their way to Viridian City to get their poke-transport to Fuchsia City. The route was small, a couple of hours of walking to reach there. On the way there, they saw hordes of Pidgeys, Spearows, and Ratatas but none of them were appealing to Ash. A couple of Spearows and Ratatas challenged them and a couple of thundershocks from Pikachu were enough to take care of them.

This was not the first time that Ash had been to Viridian City. His mother had taken him here a few times to buy supplies since Pallet Town, being very isolated, did not keep everything. Viridian City may be a city and a home to the most powerful gym leader in Giovanni but it was still one of the smallest cities in the Kanto region. To the north of Viridian City is route 2, which leads to Viridian Forest and then on to Pewter City. To the west of the city is route 22, which leads to the Indigo Plateau, where the Pokemon League takes place. The only places of interest in the city are the gym, the pokemart, and the Pokemon centre, where Ash was heading now.

As they entered the centre, they were surprised to see the lobby was pretty much wrecked. Machokes were about carrying pillars and stones with their massive strength as their trainers were directing them to help in the reconstruction. Ash went to the front desk and rang the bell. A pretty, pink haired lady came out and greeted him with a pleasant smile. She was Nurse Joy, one of the countless Joy sisters that worked at the pokemon centres all across the world. Each Nurse Joy looked identical, and many conspiracies had sprung up to explain this phenomenon, along with the countless identical Officer Jennys. Ash's favourite was that the league cloned the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys. Nurse Joy's voice brought Ash back to the present.

"Hello young man, how may I help you?" Nurse Joy's voice was gentle and sweet.

"Hello. Can you give my Pikachu a check-up? We've been training hard the past week, I want to make sure that nothing is wrong with him."

"Of course. Just put him back in your pokeball. Chansey!" She shouted at the end.

Ash took out Pikachu's pokeball and turned to a resigned looking Pikachu as a round, pink coloured pokemon wearing a nurse's outfit came in pushing a tray which had slots for 10 pokeballs. This was Chansey, Nurse Joy's assistant. Nurse Joy told me to put Pikachu's pokeball in one of the slots. As soon as I did so, Chansey took the tray to a room in the back while Nurse Joy told me if I needed anything else.

"Yes. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to the centre?"

"That!" Nurse Joy exclaimed with a furious scowl that looked weird on her normally kind face. "This centre was attacked a couple of nights ago by Team Rocket looking to steal the pokemon here. The trainers here fought them off, but the destruction you see was caused by the collateral damage during the fight."

"What? Team Rocket? They're back?" Ash questioned with a nervous look on his face. And why won't he be nervous? Team Rocket is a criminal organization that regularly steals and abuses pokemon. They had easily taken control of the underground world and were looking to extend that to complete world domination. They had mysteriously disappeared a few years ago, but it looks like they are back. This could be a big problem for everyone.

"What happened to the Team Rocket members that attacked this centre?"

"They were arrested by Officer Jenny. They are not very smart, attacking the centre with only an Ekans and a Koffing. One of the trainers staying here was an ACE Trainer, he easily took care of them." Nurse Joy finished with a bright smile.

"That's good news," Ash smiled. ACE Trainers are some of the top trainers employed by the league, outside the Elite Four and the gym leaders. They are usually deployed by the league to places that are too insignificant to trouble the Elite Four members. The Elite Four members are tasked to look over the entire Kanto region, with the gym leaders providing protection to the respective cities they have their gyms in.

"Is there anything else?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Just a room for the night," Ash asked politely. Pokemon centres were big enough to allow many travelling trainers to book rooms free of charge. The money was provided by the League itself. Nurse Joy provided me with a key and told me the room number and that she'll buzz me when my pokemon are fully healed. Ash nodded his head before pushing his weary legs to the cafeteria to have his dinner. It had been a long day! Once he finished his dinner, he went back to the lobby to wait for his pokemon. He didn't have to wait long before Nurse Joy gave him his pokemon, saying that the Pikachu was fine, he just needed some rest. Ash thanked her after which he went to his room, Pikachu snuggled sleepily on his shoulder.

The room was modest, having only one bed, a small desk, a cupboard, and an adjoining bathroom. There was a perch by the window sill presumably for bird pokemon. One corner of the room had a small aquarium for water pokemon. Pikachu had already jumped onto the bed and was currently fighting with the blankets having managed to get himself tangled in them. Ash smiled at this scene before joining Pikachu on the bed and wishing him a good night. Both trainer and pokemon were fast asleep in no time.

Ash woke up early the next day. It was the day he was going to the Safari Zone and thus, the day he would catch his first pokemon! Ash was too excited to sleep any further, so he got up and did his morning absolutions before going to the cafeteria for a breakfast, Pikachu following him. It seemed like Ash's enthusiasm was infectious as Pikachu was bouncing around excitedly. Once breakfast was over, Ash called his mum to check up on her and to tell her that he had reached Viridian City. He spent the rest of the time till his transport arrived going over the pokedex with Pikachu as they both predicted what pokemon would be added to the team. It was a completely pointless and sometimes a childish conversation but they both had fun.

At nine o'clock, Ash and Pikachu bounced out of the pokemon centre. Once outside, Ash looked around wondering how he will recognise his poke-transport. All he knows is that the poke-transport will meet him outside the pokemon centre in Viridian City, and drop him outside the pokemon centre in Fuchsia City. He was startled out of his thoughts by a man wearing billowing robes appearing in front of him suddenly. Pikachu's cheeks started sparking in surprise but before anything could happen, the strange man started speaking.

"You are Ash Ketchum, wanting a transport to Fuchsia City." Ash opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the man continued, "Yes, I work with Lady Sabrina, and am here to provide the transport." Ash tried to say something else but was once again cut off before he could even utter a word. "There's no need to give an id. I know who you are." Ash stopped trying to talk, wondering if the psychic in front of him could read his mind, or if he was just guessing what his thoughts were.

"Prepare yourself, Ash Ketchum, we will be teleporting now." With that, he released his Kadabra. The Kadabra's spoon glowed blue, and suddenly Ash and Pikachu were in a different city. Teleporting felt like nothing Ash had thought it would. Ash had all sort of theories about what teleporting would feel like, from thinking that it'll feel like being squeezed through a tube, to swirling through time and space. But it didn't feel like that. In fact, it felt like nothing. No displacement of air, no sudden rush, nothing. The psychic just looked at Ash with a smirk, as if knowing what was going through his mind. Ash decided not to think on that too much.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the psychic saying, "Your return journey is in three days on the tenth of April. I will see you then 10.00 am." Before Ash could say anything, the psychic and Kadabra were gone.

"That was very, very weird," Ash commented.

" **Pi Pikachu**." Pikachu nodded his head in agreement.

"Anyway… We're in Fuchsia City now. To the Safari Zone, it is!" His earlier enthusiasm returning, the incident with the psychic put to the back of his mind. Pikachu sweatdropped at his trainer's sudden mood swing but followed Ash as he went to the Safari zone with a spring in his step.

Fuchsia City wasn't too much different to Pallet Town and Viridian City, Ash mused as he walked to the Safari zone. The houses were small, the city looked isolated to the rest of Kanto, just like Pallet Town was. When Ash walked into the Safari zone, he was greeted by an old, strict looking man who looked up sharply when he heard Ash enter.

"Welcome to the Safari zone. My name is Kaiser. I take it that you wish to enter?" The now named Kaiser asked Ash. On seeing Ash nod, he continued, "The entrance fee is 500 pokedollars for a single day. You can only catch pokemon in these Safari balls. This is a sanctuary for the pokemon here, so fighting them is strictly prohibited. If you want to catch a pokemon, you must convince him to come with you. If you capture a pokemon, its ball comes to me. At the end of the day, I'll transfer the pokemon from the safari ball to your pokeball. These are the rules; do you abide by them?" He asked in a no nonsense tone. Ash nodded, a little intimated, and help out his pokedex which worked as an online money transfer system.

Kaiser scanned the pokedex and deducted 500 pokedollars. He returned it to Ash along with 30 safari balls and a map of the Safari zone. Ash took the safari balls with a muttered thank you before running to the Safari Zone, his enthusiasm getting the better of him.

The Safari Zone was beautiful. Trees and lush grass as far as sight could see, with ponds intermixed, they really made a beautiful habitat for the pokemon living here. As Ash walked in, he could see a few pokemon about. There were male and female Nidorans running around being shepherded by their evolutions, Nidorino and Nidorina. He could spot a herd of Rhyhorn ambling around. A few Exeggute. Some Tauros, a few Kangaskhan, even a couple of Scythers.

All were tempting options, but Ash ignored them for now. The Safari Zone was huge, Ash wanted to see all of it before he caught a pokemon. Maybe he could catch one of the rare pokemon from another region. After all, he had three days here before he continued his journey.

Every year, a number of trainers start their journeys. Some look to challenge the League, some become coordinators, some breeders, and some just want an adventure. When the other regions became open to trainers from Kanto, hundreds of trainers went there, and hundreds go abroad every year. They go for a couple of years before coming back to Kanto. The pokemon they catch eventually mate and lay eggs in Kanto. These eggs are given to the League officials who are tasked with finding a proper home for these pokemon. The League officials go from route to route to see if these pokemon are comfortable living on that route. And some of them settle in the Safari Zone.

After a couple of hours of walking, Ash and Pikachu came across a site that had Ash squealing out of cuteness despite being a male. He could see a few Eevee running around and playing with each other. Eevee is a quadrupled creature with primarily brown fur. The tip of its large bushy tail and its furry collar are cream-coloured. It has short, slender legs with three small toes and a pink paw pad on each foot. Eevee has large, brown eyes, long pointed ears and a small black nose. In short, Eevee is one of the most adorable pokemon that exists. And to see so many Eevee playing with each other was too much for Ash and he could not make himself stop squealing like a fangirl.

After a few seconds of getting used to the adorableness of seeing so many Eevee at one time, Ash gained control over himself. His reaction to the sight of the Eevee went in the ' _this never happened, it was just a bad dream'_ part of his mind. After getting over his embarrassment, Ash's emotions once again did a flip as he got excited at the prospect of catching an Eevee. Eevee were at one point of time rare pokemon in the Kanto region. The only way to catch one was if you knew a breeder or a League official and they were kind enough to get you one. But with other regions now being open to Kanto, the Eevee population grew again. There was an abundance of Eevee in the Kalos region, and Kanto had struck a deal with them to repopulate the Eevee in Kanto.

The reason why Ash wanted to catch an Eevee was because Eevee had a rare, irregular genetic structure that allows it to evolve into many different types of pokemon. It could evolve into eight different types of pokemon, each very powerful when trained right. With that in mind, Ash walked forward to the group of Eevee. Since battling here was not allowed, he hoped to convince one of them to accompany him on his journey.

As he neared the group of Eevee, they stopped their frolicking and looked inquisitively at Ash. Again, Ash had to suppress the urge to squeal at their cuteness. He shook it off and approached them with a friendly smile. He squatted down to appear less threatening and said, "Hi. My name is Ash Ketchum." He then proceeded to give a speech similar to the one he had given Pikachu when he first met him as he explained his goals and what he wanted from his pokemon. He ended it by asking if any of the Eevee wanted to accompany him on his journey.

The Eevee took his words in and then talked to each other in yips. After some time, Pikachu got off Ash's shoulders and started talking to the Eevee as well. At one point, an Eevee came forward and started talking to Pikachu. It looked like the Eevee asked Pikachu something as the next moment Pikachu started to explain something animatedly while waving his arms around. Pikachu and the Eevee spoke to each other for a while after which the Eevee walked to Ash and stood in front of him expectedly.

"You want to come with me?" Asked Ash happily.

" **Vee. Eevee** ," yipped the Eevee while nodding its head imperiously.

"Great. Welcome to the family, Eevee!" exclaimed Ash as he tapped its forehead with a Safari Ball. The ball shook once before dinging to indicate a successful capture. There was a bright flash of light as the ball disappeared from Ash's hands surprising Ash before he remembered that the captured pokemon go to Kaiser at the Safari Zone entrance.

Ash and Pikachu waved a goodbye to the rest of the Eevee before continuing on in the Safari Zone. They stopped for lunch around noon since they had such an early breakfast and were quite hungry. After lunch, they went to another area. Since the Safari Zone was so huge, it was divided into four areas, labelled centre area, area 1, area 2, and area 3. So far, Ash and Pikachu had spent their time in the centre area and were now going to area 2.

Area 2 was slightly different to the centre area. Area 2 was filled with flowers. Yellow coloured, red coloured, white coloured, orange coloured, blue coloured, there were a lot of flowers in this area. The pokemon were more or less the same as they were in the centre area, though, which disappointed Ash since he expected to see some new pokemon in the new region.

After a couple of hours of exploring, Ash saw what appeared to be small lights flitting around the flowers. Curious about this, Ash walked forward to see what these lights were. On closer inspection, Ash discovered what those lights were and that discovery had him doing cartwheels internally with joy. For those lights were not lights, they were small pokemon. Flabebe to be exact. Flabebe is a pokemon native to the Kalos region and is one of the elusive fairy type pokemon. And Ash wanted to catch it so bad! A fairy type pokemon can change the course of any battle and their advantage against bug type, fighting type, dark type, and their total immunity against dragon type pokemon makes them so sought after. He would spend as long as he needed to, to convince one of them to accompany him on his journey.

With that in mind, he walked to the Flabebe. They were tiny, barely four inches long. Their upper half was white while the lower half was green. They had white arms and long, notched ears, with a green tail. They had a small, yellow coloured crown on their head with beady eyes and a small nose. It seemed like they had a permanent blush on their cheeks.

However, Ash had barely gotten close to them before the Flabebe noticed him. With a loud shout of their name, all the Flabebe fled into the flowers. It looked like they did not want to be captured. Ash saw them leave, completely disappointed that he did not even have a chance to convince them to join him. He was broken out of his reverie by a Flabebe floating in front of his face sitting on a white flower. The Flabebe called out its name after which it looked at Ash inquisitively. Ash wasted no time before he started trying to convince the Flabebe to join him on his journey. To Ash's joy, the Flabebe nodded its head signifying that it wants to be captured. He quickly tapped the Flabebe on its head and the ball was sent to Kaiser.

Instead of exploring the region further, Ash and Pikachu went back to Fuchsia City. He had achieved what he wanted to by adding two members to his growing family. Now he just wanted to catch a water type pokemon since it would be a massive help in Ash's first gym battle. And Ash didn't want to catch more than three pokemon right now since he wasn't sure if he could effectively train so many pokemon so soon in his journey. So he would explore the rest of the Safari Zone when he returned to Fuchsia city to challenge Koga for the Soul Badge. Plus, he really wanted to catch a couple of pokemon that he saw in today.

After transferring his pokemon from the safari balls to his pokeballs, Ash went to the Fuchsia City pokemon centre where he booked a room for three nights. After eating dinner, Ash and Pikachu went to their room. Upon settling in, Ash released his Eevee and his Flabebe. Once released, Ash showed them his pokedex and told them that he was going to scan them. He first pointed it at Eevee and the robotic voice of the pokedex rang out.

 **Eevee, the Evolution pokemon. Eevee is a unique pokemon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving. This Eevee is female and has the ability Adaptability. This Eevee knows the moves Helping Hand, Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, and Sand Attack. This Eevee knows the egg move Detect, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

 **Flabebe, the Single Bloom Pokemon. It draws out and controls the hidden power of flowers. The flower that Flabebe holds is most likely a part of its body. This Flabebe is female and has the ability Flower Veil. This Flabebe knows the moves Tackle, Vine Whip, and Fairy Wind. This Flabebe knows the egg move Camouflage, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

Neither had too many moves right now but that was fine with Ash. Both the pokemon were similar to Ash, young and eager to explore the world. And they all would grow together. Ash spent the remaining day bonding with the two. He quickly found out that Flabebe was curious about everything and was a bundle of energy, constantly moving around to explore everything. Eevee rarely took part in the conversation, sitting there regarding everything in a slightly disinterested manner. It took Ash some time to realize that Eevee was not being rude, she just had a regal and snobbish attitude. Something that Ash would have to work on. Not get rid of her nature, just curb her arrogance.

When it was time to sleep, neither Flabebe nor Eevee wanted to sleep in the pokeball. Pikachu and Flabebe slept on either side of Ash while Eevee lay down at the foot of the bed with her back turned to the rest of them. Ash just snorted at the sight and decided to let things be for now. He had a lot of time to make Eevee a part of his family.

The next day found Ash and Pikachu at the Safari Zone as soon as it opened. After paying the entrance fee, they entered the Safari Zone and Ash immediately released Eevee and Flabebe so that they could get some fresh air. This would also allow them to bond some more.

Ash made a beeline for the big pond he had found while exploring yesterday. On reaching the shore, Ash pulled out his fishing rod and threw the line in the sea. He made himself comfortable and told his pokemon to do the same since he knew that fishing requires patience. Something he didn't have but Ash bore with it since this will probably be the last time he would have to do something like this.

And patience was indeed needed. Many hours had passed and Ash was still waiting for a special pokemon to show up like Flabebe yesterday. Ash knew that he was being unrealistic since he had lucked out yesterday, but the childish part of him could not help but want the special pokemon. He figured that if no such pokemon was discovered by Ash, he could just catch a water type pokemon the next day. It was not as if fishing was bad. The clear pond reflecting the rays of the sun, the pleasant weather, the sounds of the wild pokemon, watching Pikachu and Flabebe frolicking around and laughing as they played what looked like tag, it was a nice experience. What made it even better was to see Eevee go from downright ignoring everyone to looking at Pikachu and Flabebe curiously as they played while allowing Ash to pet her head. She didn't join the other two pokemon, nor did she acknowledge Ash other than allowing him to pet her head, but progress was made.

There were a few pokemon that Ash found in the pond. The most common were Magikarp. While he knew that Magikarp evolved into the very powerful Gyarados, Ash wasn't sure if he could manage to get it to listen. Gyrados were known for their legendary destructive power and even more legendary temper and Ash wanted to have much more experience before attempting to do that. Maybe after a few months when he had five to six badges.

There were also Goldeens and Slowpokes. While Ash was tempted to catch the Slowpoke, he would wait till he sees all the pokemon in the pond before he makes the decision. Ash was ruminating whether to call it a day and try again tomorrow before he felt a tug on his rod. He slowly reeled the pokemon in so as to not startle it. When the pokemon broke the surface, Ash nearly had a heart attack when he saw that it was serpentine in shape with a blue body and white underside. It had white, three-ponged fins on the sides of its head and a white bump on its forehead. Above its large, round, white snout were oval, purple eyes. This was Dratini, the mirage pokemon, one of the rarest pokemon in the Kanto region whose final evolution was known as a pseudo-legendary for its power.

Before Ash could even begin to recover from seeing the Dratini, the surface of the water was disturbed quite violently. Out of the water came a beautiful, blue serpent-like pokemon. A regal beauty surrounded it, awing Ash and the pokemon nearby. Ash had heard that dragon pokemon always had this regal air about them, appearing wise and majestic and he truly understood what that meant now. The Dragonair hovered in front of Ash, its head tilted curiously. But there was a hint of steel in its eyes that made Ash realize that the Dratini Ash reeled in was the Dragonair's baby.

Ash snapped out of his reverence and greeted the dragon. "Hello, Dragonair. My name is Ash Ketchum and I am a pokemon trainer. I have visited the Safari zone to catch some pokemon to accompany me on my journey. I was looking for a water type pokemon when my rod caught the Dratini," Ash clarified in case the Dragonair thought that Ash was threatening her child. He absolutely DID NOT want an angry dragon type pokemon after him. He was not suicidal.

The Dragonair took his words in before nodding its head as if accepting his words. It was about to go back under the water with the Dratini when Ash called out to it.

"Wait, if it is okay with you, I would like to ask Dratini if it wants to become a part of my team." While Ash knew that most pseudo-legendaries are hard to control, Dratini and its evolutions are known to be some of the calmest pokemon and Ash knew that if he made a strong enough bond with the Dratini, he would have no problems with its evolutions. Plus, Dragonair took a while before it evolved into Dragonite and Ash hoped he had gained enough experience to handle it.

The Dragonair looked at Ash inquisitively while its eyes scanned Ash. Ash held back a shiver as he saw the intelligent eyes of the dragon. It was said that dragon type pokemon are some of the wisest pokemon in the world, but Ash had, till now, not understood what it meant. Those eyes seemed to pierce his soul as if judging if Ash was worthy of training its child.

The Dragonair made a soft cooing sound as it stared at Ash as if urging him to do something. What that was, Ash had no idea, so he just started talking to Dragonair about himself as he thought that the only way to convince it to allow the Dratini to join him was telling it about himself. So, he started talking about his dreams, and as he got comfortable, he started talking more and more. He spoke about his childhood, his thoughts, his ideals, his wants, his needs, everything. As he was talking, he noticed that Pikachu, Flabebe, and Eevee had started listening to his tale curiously, and he realised that even they didn't know everything. This gave Ash more motivation to lay everything on the table, even if Dratini refused to join him, Pikachu, Flabebe, and Eevee deserved to know this. They deserved to know their trainer and what made him tick.

Ash spoke for a long time and considered it to be worth it as he felt that he had bonded more with his pokemon during his speech than he had during his entire journey so far. He was grateful to the Dragonair for making him do this, even if he wasn't sure if this was what it wanted from him. As Ash was about to leave with his pokemon, a coo from Dragonair interrupted him. Dragonair and Dratini seemed to be having a conversation. At the end of the conversation, the Dratini and the Dragonair hugged each other before the Dragonair went back into the pond. The Dratini, meanwhile, came to Ash and butted its head against Ash's chest while letting out a soft coo.

Ash looked at the Dratini in surprise as its eyes conveyed what Ash could not have imagined except in his wildest dreams. He had to confirm it, to make sure that he was not perceiving things wrong. So he asked the Dratini, hope brimming in his voice if it wanted to come with him on his journey. At her answering cry of acknowledgement, Ash couldn't help but grin widely. He presented a safari ball to the Dratini, who poked it with its snout and got sucked into the ball. The ball dinged immediately, showing that the Dratini didn't even try to fight the capture.

Ash pumped his fist, bouncing on his feet with excitement and exclaimed: "I caught a Dratini!"

 **A/N: So this was chapter two. The majority of the people wanted me to make Ash catch an Eevee, so here it is. I was going to do so anyway, but later on in the story. Also, thank you to iggychan89 for suggesting Flabebe. It is my favourite pokemon in X/Y but I wasn't sure how people would accept Ash catching one.**

 **In this chapter, I wanted to show Ash convincing three pokemon to join him in different ways. Eevee is convinced by Pikachu, Flabebe is just curious about the outside world and wants an adventure while Ash had to convince Dragonair to allow Dratini to join Ash's team.**

 **The pace would pick up next chapter onwards. Ash will reach Pewter City and I may even include the gym battle. It depends on how detailed I make the training of the pokemon. Should I continue what I did in this chapter or make it briefer? Again, constructive criticism is welcome, it helps me become better as a writer.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Do I need to do this for every chapter? I don't own pokemon.**

 **A/N: Thank you for the follows, favourites, and the reviews. You guys are the best. Before I start the chapter, I want to address a couple of concerns that viewers have raised.**

 **A lot of people are saying that I have given Ash too many pokemon, too quickly. I agree with you guys, it is a concern for me as well. But, Ash won't catch a new pokemon for quite a while. He will catch one around the third gym.**

 **Another thing is about egg moves. Egg moves in my story represent the moves that are bred into pokemon in the games. They are moves that a pokemon is usually not able to learn, but does so because of his/her ancestry. They will have to work equally hard to learn these moves. They won't just magically unlock.**

 **Sorry for the longish author's note. Here's chapter 3.**

Rock

Ash and Pikachu were at the entrance of route 2. Ash had spent most of the last day in Fuchsia City in deep thought. The source of his troubles was the pokemon he caught in the Safari Zone. While extremely happy with the pokemon that he caught, none of them would really help him against Brock.

Pikachu's electric attacks are useless against rock and ground type pokemon. Eevee is a normal type pokemon whose attacks would do little more than Pikachu's electric attacks. Flabebe had vine whip, but her attack was weak and Ash was not confident in her ability to beat a gym leader's pokemon. Ash had gone fishing to catch a water type pokemon and ended up catching Dratini. While Dratini evolves into one of the most powerful pokemon, scanning Dratini did little to ease Ash's worries, for the pokedex said this about his Dratini.

 **Dratini, the dragon pokemon. Dratini continually molts and sloughs off its old skin. It does so because the life energy within its body steadily builds to reach uncontrollable levels. This Dratini is male and has the ability shed skin. This Dratini knows the moves Wrap, Leer, and Thunder Wave. This Dratini has the egg move Dragon Pulse, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

So as of now, none of his pokemon could beat Brock's pokemon. Ash spent the entirety of the previous day thinking of strategies to win his first gym battle. While none of his pokemon other than Flabebe know moves that are super effective against rock type pokemon, all is not lost. Ash could train his pokemon to beat them! He could teach Pikachu, Dratini, and Eevee iron tail, a powerful steel type move that is super effective against rock type pokemon. He could also teach Dratini a few water type attacks that would work brilliantly in the first gym. Flabebe already had vine whip and she could naturally learn more grass type attacks. It was up to Ash to bring out his pokemon's potential and he would do so. He had promised his pokemon that before he caught them.

The rest of the day was spent in assessing the status of his new pokemon. Flabebe had a weak tackle attack and an even weaker vine whip, but her fairy wind was strong. Dratini had no experience in battling, and it showed with his weak wrap attack. But he had mastered thunder wave and Ash wasted no time in asking Dratini to help Pikachu master the move. With the guidance of Dratini, Pikachu worked out the kinks in his attack and finally mastered the move.

Eevee, on the other hand, was a different matter. Under her haughty demeanour, she was someone who loved to fight. When Ash was about to assess Eevee, she immediately put a stop to any plans he had and sent out a challenging growl towards Pikachu. When Pikachu gave Ash a confused look, Eevee directed the same growl to Ash. It didn't take long for Ash to figure out that Eevee wanted to battle Pikachu with Ash directing him. But just to confirm, he asked Eevee the same.

"Hey, Eevee. You want to battle Pikachu and me, huh?"

" **Vee. Eevee.** " Eevee nodded her head in reply.

"That's fine with me," replied Ash. It looks like she wants Ash to prove himself as a trainer to her. "Pikachu, you ready? This will be our first battle as partners."

" **Pika Pi,** " replied Pikachu as he took a stance in front of Eevee, who needed no further encouragement and started running at Pikachu at a much faster speed than what Ash would have expected. But Ash was able to recover quickly and called out, "Pikachu, use your tail to jump to the side to dodge the attack and hit Eevee with a Thundershock."

Pikachu used his natural agility and his faster reactions to easily dodge Eevee's attack. The following thundershock hit home and Ash thought that the battle was over then and there. After all, Pikachu's thundershock was quite powerful. So imagine Ash's and Pikachu's surprise when Eevee just shook off the attack and charged at Pikachu with another tackle attack. Pikachu could not recover from his surprise fast enough to dodge the attack this time and went flying with the force of the tackle attack.

It was then that Ash broke out of his stupor as he realised two things. One, Pikachu needed to work on his dodging. No matter how powerful, Pikachu's species were just not meant to take physical attacks. And working on speed was of no use if Pikachu didn't utilize it properly. The second thing he realized was that Eevee hit hard. Out of all his pokemon, Eevee so far hits the hardest. It just showed how much effort she put into getting stronger as Eevee as a species were not that powerful.

As Pikachu wobbled to his feet, Eevee charged at him with another tackle attack. Ash frowned as he made a note of the lack of Eevee's offensive moves. He'll need to work on that. Once Pikachu got his bearings, Ash snapped out, "Quick Attack. Don't let her hit you. Confuse her. Hit her with another Thundershock. Finish it with Quick Attack."

Pikachu disappeared in a flash of yellow as he zipped away from Eevee. He spent the next few seconds in Quick Attack darting around an Eevee forcing her to turn from one direction to another at quick speeds to try to keep up with Pikachu. The constant movement disoriented Eevee and that was when Pikachu struck her with a massive Thundershock attack that definitely damaged Eevee. Before Eevee could recover, she was struck by Pikachu's Quick Attack. This time, Eevee did not get up.

That day really showed him where his pokemon stood. All his pokemon needed training to start taking parts in battle, which is why Ash had left the Viridian City pokemon centre at the break of dawn. Route 2 is huge, connecting Viridian City to Pewter City. It is, in fact, divided into two parts, part one connects Viridian City to Viridian Forest and part two connects Viridian Forest to Pewter City. The whole journey would take around three weeks, ample time to train his pokemon and make them stronger by battling against the various trainers on the route.

Ash searched for a clearing and soon found one. As soon as he set up camp, he released his pokemon.

"Alright, guys. We have around three weeks before we challenge Brock for our first gym badge and we need to do some serious training if we are to beat him. Are you ready?"

At the various signs of approval from his pokemon, Ash continued. "Okay, first we work on dodging. Eevee and Dratini, stand on one side; Pikachu and Flabebe, stand on the other. First, I want Pikachu to attack Eevee with a Tackle attack while Flabebe attacks Dratini with Vine Whip. Then you two alternate. Eevee and Dratini, I want you guys to dodge as many attacks as you can. Don't get disheartened if you can't avoid too many today, we have just started training.

Pikachu and Flabebe, I want you guys to hit as fast as you can and get as many hits as possible. Don't make your attacks too hard as we are just training and we don't want to knock anyone else out. You guys understand?" At receiving nods from his pokemon, Ash yelled, "Begin!"

The purpose of this exercise was multiple. The first was obvious, to help Eevee and Dratini get used to seeing incoming attacks, of both physical and elemental in nature, and tuning their body to dodge the attacks. The second became clear a few minutes into the exercise. As Dratini and Eevee started getting used to attacks and dodging them more frequently, Pikachu and Flabebe had to work harder to hit their opponents. Pikachu started going faster in his base speed to give his opponents lesser time to dodge while Flabebe had to learn how to manoeuvre her Vine Whip to hit moving targets, thereby increasing her mastery in the attack.

Ash made his pokemon continue this exercise for half an hour, after which he gave them some time to recuperate. Once done, Ash had them assemble as before. "Now, we will change things. Dratini, attack Pikachu with your Thunder Wave attack. Pikachu, dodge them. Eevee, hit Flabebe with your Tackle attack. Make it weak, so as to not injure her. Flabebe, you know what to do. After this round, Flabebe, hit Pikachu with your Vine Whip. Pikachu, you hit Flabebe with a very weak Thundershock. Understand?"

This exercise would teach Pikachu to dodge elemental attacks. Ash didn't bother with having Pikachu dodge physical attacks since the rest of his pokemon were much slower than Pikachu and Pikachu would dodge the attacks easily. And even if Pikachu was hit with a Thunder Wave, it won't have any effect because of his Lightning Rod ability.

The main purpose of this exercise was to help Dratini hit moving targets with his Thunder Wave, Eevee with her base speed as she used her tackle attacks continuously, and Flabebe, with dodging. Again, Ash continued this for half an hour. After a short break, he continued the training session.

"That was great guys, I'm proud of you. We are going to do this exercise every morning from now on. Now, we will move to the next part. Pikachu, Eevee, and Dratini, see that boulder over there?" asked Ash as he pointed to a large stone boulder a few feet away. It was around four feet tall and six feet wide, perfect for what Ash had planned next. "I want you guys to hit the boulder with your tail repeatedly. According to the pokedex, this is one of the two ways to teach pokemon Iron Tail. So get to it. Flabebe, you will use Vine Whip at the boulder repeatedly as well. This is to increase the power behind the move because as of now, your Vine Whip will not do much damage to opposing pokemon. Take turns with hitting the boulder since there is only one of them. You guys ready? Good, begin."

Ash sat and watched patiently as his pokemon went about their exercise diligently. He was not expecting immediate results for three of his pokemon. In fact, the pokedex informed him that learning a move that does not come naturally to a pokemon takes much longer than a move which comes naturally. For example, Pikachu can learn electric attacks much easier than say, steel type ones. He just hoped that his pokemon could learn the attack before they reach Pewter. Flabebe, on the other hand, showed a slight improvement in the power behind her Vine Whip attack.

After an hour, Ash checked his watch to see the time was around half past eight. He started preparing breakfast for himself and his pokemon and called them to him once it was ready. His pokemon looked tired with the hard work they had put in and Ash was proud of their efforts. After breakfast and generally bonding with his team, Ash decided on one last training session before starting his journey to Pewter City. He tied rocks to the tails of Pikachu, Eevee, and Dratini and asked them to lift it up and down. This would help strengthen their tails for Iron Tail and was the second exercise mentioned in the pokedex to help teach a pokemon that move. Ash meanwhile had Flabebe use Fairy Wind at that same boulder to help strengthen that attack.

One and a half hour later, Ash was ready to resume his journey. His pokemon trained for another hour after which Ash told them to rest to recuperate their energy. After all, they would be battling trainers on the route to Viridian Forest. A few minutes into the walk, Ash saw a young boy his age walking towards him. As he neared Ash, he called out to him. "Hi, my name is Joey. I challenge you to a pokemon battle!"

"Sure," replied Ash. "What are the rules?"

"How does a two on two sound?" He asked, looking at Ash's Pikachu, and the pokeballs on Ash's belt. "No substitutions."

"Fine with me," replied Ash as he unhooked a pokeball before tossing it out. "Flabebe, you're up." With a flash, Flabebe appeared on her white flower. "Flabebe," Ash got her attention. "We are going to be having our first battle."

" **Flabebe!** " Flabebe twirled in the air in excitement before settling into a stance.

"Wow, what is that pokemon? Hahaha, it is so tiny. This will be an easy win. Spearow, let's win this!" With that, a small fierce-looking bird came out, staring at them with angry eyes. Spearow were normally wild pokemon and had terrible attitudes. "Spearow, use your peck attack."

"Wait till it is close, then blast it with a Fairy Wind!"

Spearow charged at Flabebe with its beak glowing, but as soon as it was a few feet from Flabebe, she produced a blast of wind from her flower that hammered into Spearow and smashed it into the ground.

"No Spearow! Shake it off and use Fury Attack!"

"Don't let it do so. Use Vine Whip to grab it and smash it into the ground. Repeat it until the Spearow faints." Ash replied, not giving the Spearow breathing room. And that's what happened. By the time Spearow managed to get up from the Fairy Wind attack, vines wrapped around its body and lifted it up only to smash it into the ground.

"NO! Spearow!" cried out Joey as Spearow screamed in pain. "Try to get yourself out of there," he shouted, but it was of no use as Flabebe smashed the Spearow into the ground once again. The brutal punishment was too much for Spearow as it finally succumbed to unconsciousness and fell down with swirls in its eyes.

"Alright! Great job Flabebe!" Ash pumped his fist.

" **Flabebe!** " Flabebe squeaked as she twirled in the air once again.

"You're not half bad. But you won't beat my next pokemon. Go, Ratata!" exclaimed his opponent sending out a small mouse-shaped pokemon.

"Use Quick Attack!" Ratata blasted off at a high speed, leaving a trail of energy in its wake.

"Dodge it!" yelled Ash, but even he knew that it would not be possible. Without experience with such moves, it is difficult for any pokemon to dodge a quick attack, so for a barely trained pokemon, it is impossible. And as Ash predicted, Ratata slammed into Flabebe sending her flying back with a cry of pain.

"Flabebe! Are you alright?"

" **Bebe!** " came the determined reply of Flabebe as she shook off the effects of the attack.

"Great! Now hit it with a Fairy Wind!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack and attack it again!" came the answer from Joey. And as Joey wished for, his pokemon dodged the Fairy Wind with ease and went after Flabebe again.

"Try to catch I with your Vine Whip," shouted Ash as he knew that asking Flabebe to dodge was pointless. He could only counter. But his hopes were dashed as the Ratata nimbly dodged the Vine Whip causing the attack to bounce off the ground while Ratata barrelled into Flabebe once again.

"Flabebe! Are you alright? Can you still fight?" questioned a worried Ash. He received a muffled reply from Flabebe as she struggled to stand.

"Great going Ratata! We've got this in the bag. Let's finish this with another Quick Attack."

" **Tata!** " the Ratata acknowledged as it sprinted towards Flabebe once again.

"Flabebe! Get ready! I want you to prepare the strongest Vine Whip that you can!" exclaimed Ash as a plan formed in his head from the previous attempts at attacking Ratata.

"It's useless, Ash. Ratata is too fast for your pokemon. This battle is over!" replied a confident Joey as he waited for his imminent victory.

"Don't get too cocky. Flabebe, now, use Vine Whip on the ground below you with full force!"

" **Flaaa! Bebe!** " replied his Flabebe as she listened to Ash's instruction. Her trainer had not let her wrong so far, so she would trust him. She smashed her Vine Whip into the ground and the recoil generated by the force of the attack lifted her above Ratata's attack.

"What?" questioned a confused Joey as his opponent dodged his pokemon's attack.

"Yes! Flabebe! Now's your chance! Hit it with your Fairy Wind. Once it is down, wrap it in your Vine Whip and hit it with a Fairy Wind again. Smash it into the ground if it is still conscious," yelled an enthusiastic Ash, as his plan worked. Flabebe took her opportunity and executed Ash's instructions perfectly once again. Two direct hits from Flabebe's Fairy Wind was too much for Ratata and it slumped into unconsciousness.

"Alright! That was great, Flabebe!" cheered Ash, as he pumped his fist in the air, ecstatic about his first win as a trainer. "You were absolutely brilliant, Flabebe!"

" **Flabebe! Fla! Fla! Bebe!** " cheered his Flabebe, as she twirled in the air.

"That was a nice battle. I thought I had it there. Your Flabebe is strong." Ash turned around to see his opponent standing in front of him with his hand outstretched, having already returned his Ratata. Ash happily accepted the handshake, while saying, "Yes, I had a lot of fun too! Thank you for the battle."

They parted ways after that, and Ash's pokedex dinged. Ash opened it to see that he had earned 560 pokedollars. Ash smiled happily. This was a way the league encouraged young trainers to train their pokemon well. After each win, the trainer earned a certain sum of money, while losing caused them to lose the money. Ash didn't know how the league kept a track of all this but thought it was not his problem.

"We won our first battle, guys!" Ash said to Pikachu and Flabebe. "Our first step to achieving our dream!" he exclaimed as Pikachu and Flabebe cheered happily. Ash took out an Oran Berry and gave it to Flabebe so that she recovered from the wounds she received in the battle as well as some energy. As she started munching it, Ash spoke to her. "That Vine Whip to dodge the Quick attack was a brilliant idea. We'll practice that move from now on. It will give us an edge in battles that our opponents will not expect."

" **Flabebe!** " she cheered happily.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

It was late evening, around half past six, and Ash was setting up camp. The rest of the journey continued in the same vein. Ash had taken part in more than ten battles after his first one. Most of the trainers used Pidgey, Spearow, Ratata, or bug pokemon like Caterpie and Weedle. Most of the pokemon were weak, and Ash easily won all his battles using his Pikachu, Eevee, and Flabebe in equal amounts. He didn't use Dratini yet, as Ash didn't deem him strong enough to do so. He needed more training and to learn new moves before he started battling, since Wrap is a weak attack, and he had no other offensive moves.

Eevee got lesser battles than the other two for the exact same reason. She only knew tackle but her tenacity and her will to battle were enough to allow Ash to let her battle. Ash always withdrew her if her opponent was too much to handle. The battles involving Flabebe were similar to the one she already had, but getting easier as she gained more experience with battling. She even lost one battle against a powerful Pidgey but weakened it enough for Pikachu to defeat it easily. The battles were much easier for Pikachu. His electric attacks were naturally super effective against bird pokemon, combined with his already powerful thundershock attack, made defeating his opponents fairly simple. The battles against the Ratata were easy as well, as Pikachu was naturally faster than them, and had the added advantage of having an attack that could hit from a distance.

Once Ash set up his tent, he released all his pokemon for a final training session before sleeping. Once his pokemon shook off the effects of being in statis, he addressed them.

"Alright guys, we have stopped for the day. We have a couple of hours till dinner, so what do you say we train till then?" Ash's heart warmed as he heard the enthusiastic cries of approval of his pokemon. He smiled and continued. "Our training sessions in the evening will be geared towards learning and mastering moves that come naturally to you all."

"Pikachu, I want you to help Eevee learn Quick Attack. Give her the gist and let her work it out on her own. She can ask you for help if she is stuck. Got it?" At their affirming cries, he continued, "Good. Get to it. Pikachu, I will come tell you your exercise after I help Flabebe and Dratini. Now, go!"

As Pikachu and Eevee ran off, with Pikachu explaining the move to Eevee, Ash turned to Flabebe. "Alright, Flabebe. I want you to start working on Razor Leaf. According to the pokedex, you first work on forming the razor sharp leaves needed for this move. We will get to the throwing part later. Understand?" At Flabebe's nod, he sent her off to start learning her new move.

Razor Leaf was a moderately powerful grass type attack in which the user hurls multiple sharp leaves at the opponent. These leaves slash at the opponent and a powerful Razor Leaf is powerful enough to cut through even rock. Of course, Flabebe will need not only months but maybe evolve into its final form to reach that level of power. However, Ash had complete faith that Flabebe's ability to reach that level.

Ash turned his attention to Dratini. "Hi, Dratini. How about we start you learning your first dragon type move?" At Dratini's enthusiastic coo, Ash smiled and continued. "I want you to get started on learning Twister. I want you to concentrate your draconic energy into first moving the air around you. Once you have that down consistently, I want you to start making the twister."

Twister is probably the weakest dragon type move in existence. The user whips up a twister filled with draconic energy and hurls it at the opponent. While it is moderately damage dealing, it is not powerful enough to knock out most pokemon with one hit, unlike other dragon type attacks. However, Ash wants Dratini to get used to channelling and controlling his draconic energy for future moves and Twister is the best way to do that.

Once Dratini started working on learning Twister, Ash walked to where Pikachu was overseeing Eevee learn Quick Attack. After getting his starter's attention, he led Pikachu a little further away from Eevee. Once there, he started speaking. "Pikachu, one thing I noticed in your battle against Eevee is the amount of damage you took from a single tackle attack. Even while training to dodge attacks, the attacks that hit you did more damage to you than to any of the others."

" **Pikaaa** ," Pikachu muttered depressingly.

"It's okay, Pikachu," Ash comforted him while petting his head lovingly. "It's not your fault. I did some research on the pokedex about the Pikachu species, and you guys are just not built to take hits. Which is why we will make sure that it will be almost impossible to hit you. To do so, instead of teaching you an offensive move, I want you to learn double team. You understand?" Pikachu murmured an approval and went off to train a little happier than what he was a few seconds ago.

After two hours of training, Ash called his pokemon for dinner. Other than Pikachu, the rest looked absolutely exhausted. Today was the first time they trained so much, and it would take them a few days to get used to it and get the proper benefit from such harsh training. Pikachu was in a much better shape since he has been training like this for a week. After dinner, everyone quickly went to sleep to rest their exhausted bodies.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash and Pikachu stood at the entrance of Viridian Forest. The previous two days went similar to the day they started their journey to Pewter City. They got up, trained, walked for a few hours, battled trainers, stopped for the evening, trained some more, and then rested.

As Ash had predicted, the training in the evening bore more fruit than the training in the morning. Despite training for three days, neither one of Dratini, Pikachu, or Eevee made any progress in learning Iron Tail. Flabebe, on the other hand, was showing some effects of training as her Vine Whip was getting notably stronger. She had also started incorporating using her vines to dodge attacks thrown at her during dodging practice.

The evening sessions, on the other hand, were showing noticeable progress. Pikachu had already cracked the secret behind the Double Team technique and needed a few more days to master the move. Flabebe, after three days, had finally produced a Razor Leaf. Now, she needed to work on producing multiple leaves of the same quality, the speed at which she produces them, and throwing the leaves. At the rate she was going, Ash assumed she will have the move mastered in a week. Perhaps lesser, if she masters Vine Whip and can practice the move in the mornings as well.

Dratini was so far the slowest to show progress in learning a new move. It was expected, since draconic energy is notoriously hard to control, even for a dragon type. But the three days were enough time for Ash to see that he had already started controlling the energy he was born with. Ash was hopeful that Dratini could master the move by the time they reached Pewter City in around two and a half weeks.

Eevee was the one who showed the maximum progress in learning her new move. Again, not surprising, since she had Pikachu to help her along the way. With Pikachu's help, she had almost learnt the move, and Ash was confident that she would master the move soon enough. Ash had already started researching moves for her to learn next.

Now, Ash and Pikachu were entering Viridian Forest, having completed their morning training session. Viridian Forest was a dark, gloomy place, and was the home to countless bug type and flying type pokemon. It could be dangerous as there are various Beedril nests throughout the forest, and a horde of angry Beedril can be dangerous to even the most experienced trainer.

A few minutes after entering the forest, Ash had his first encounter with the infamous bug catchers. Bug catchers were trainers that only focused on catching bug pokemon, and unfortunately, 99% of them were pathetically weak. At least, that is what their reputation is. Ash would be getting a firsthand experience in this pretty soon as the bug catcher challenged him to a battle.

"What are the rules?" asked Ash as he readied his pokeball.

"Three on three, no substitutions," replied his opponent.

"Cool. Eevee, you're up." With a flash of light, Ash's Eevee came out, ready for a battle.

"Go, Caterpie!" with that, a green caterpillar pokemon came out of the pokeball. It had yellow ring-shaped markings down the side of its body. It had a bright red antenna on its head.

"Use Tackle!" both trainers shouted. Eevee and Caterpie rushed at each other. Ash let it be since he was confident that Eevee would not take too much damage. He wanted to see how powerful his opponent's pokemon are. However, the result was anticlimactic. Eevee barrelled straight through Caterpie as the bug pokemon went flying and hit a tree. It didn't get up after that.

"…."

"Is that it?" asked Ash incredulously. By Mew, that was disappointing.

" **Vee! Eevee!** " sniffed Eevee as she turned away haughtily, clearly not impressed with the battle.

"Grr. This is not over. Let's go Weedle. Trash these idiots." With that, a small larva pokemon with a yellow coloured body came out of the pokeball. It had a conical stinger on its head, and one on its tail.

"Go Weedle, use Poison Sting." The horn on Weedle's head glowed brightly before what looked like multiple needles of the same light shot towards Eevee.

"Dodge it, Eevee. Then use Tackle. Avoid the horns, they are poisonous," commanded Ash. Eevee easily dodged the Poison Sting, her practice in dodging attacks showing, before she tackled the side of Weedle's body. The result was the same as the previous match. Weedle was unconscious before it even fell to the ground.

"Don't get cocky, brat. You may have defeated two of my pokemon, but you will definitely lose to my last pokemon. Go, Kakuna!" yelled the bug catcher as he sent out his last pokemon. Kakuna is the evolved form of Weedle and retains its yellow colour. It has a dome-shaped head and black, triangular eyes.

"Eevee, finish this farce of a battle. Use Tackle."

"Not so fast. Kakuna, use Harden!" On hearing its trainer's command, Kakuna's body glowed before its skin hardened. When Eevee hit it, it flew a couple of feet back but was definitely conscious.

"Hahaha. Now, what will you do against the ultimate defense of my pokemon?" taunted the bug catcher.

Ash just felt like face palming. It was confirmed, the stories about bug catchers were true. They had weak pokemon, and they were idiots. Harden just lessens the damage of a physical attack, it does not nullify it. In fact, if Eevee knew a special type attack, this battle would be over already. Still, the only thing left was to keep hitting Kakuna with Tackle till it faints. However, just before he could give the command, a sudden burst of inspiration struck Ash.

"Eevee, this is a brilliant opportunity to help you train your new move. With harden, it will take a few hits before we win the battle. Keep using Quick Attack till it faints!" Ash commanded. Normally, he would never ask his pokemon to use a half-mastered move, but Kakuna was not retaliating. It just stood there and continued using Harden. Eevee joyfully followed her trainer's command as she continuously hit Kakuna with a Quick Attack. While Kakuna kept hardening its body, the onslaught became too much for it and it fainted soon. Eevee let out a degrading sound as she turned her back to her opponent and walked back to Ash with her head high.

"What? How did you beat my perfect defense?" questioned the perplexed bug catcher. Ash didn't even deem the person worthy of an answer as he picked Eevee up and continued walking. While he could have returned her to her pokeball, she liked being carried. Especially when Ash was grooming her while walking. And Ash was planning on using her in battles against the various bug catchers that are in the forest. It would be an excellent way for Eevee to master Quick Attack.

The next two days followed in a similar fashion. Ash was fighting a bug catcher every few minutes. Normally, trainers avoided these bug catchers like the plague, but Ash was using this to help his pokemon train. And to get money as well. All the money he is earning from bug catchers will go to buy TMs later on in Celadon City.

Pikachu was quickly taking care of his opponents since the move he is learning is not offensive in nature. So, Ash had Pikachu use a judicious amount of Thundershock and Quick Attack to defeat his opponents. Eevee was only using Quick Attack while fighting against the various Metapod and Kakuna while the remaining opponents were not talking about. Flabebe gained the most from these battles. She could practice not only her Vine Whip on her opponents, Ash had her start using Razor Leaf as well. Flabebe could only produce one leaf at a time, but Ash had her practice throwing it at her opponents while battling.

And it worked too. Flabebe's Vine Whip was finally powerful enough for Ash's liking and Flabebe now started learning Razor Leaf during both training sessions. Eevee too had finally mastered Quick Attack and would start learning a new move today. And this is where we find Ash and Eevee. Ash was instructing Eevee to start learning Swift, since Eevee only had physical type attacks, and Swift would give her an attack that she could use from a distance. But Eevee, in a turn of events was refusing.

" **Vee! Eevee!** " she exclaimed while pointing to Ash's pokedex.

"You want my pokedex?" Ash asked, confused.

" **Vee! Vee, Eevee!** " she insisted while continuing to point at his pokedex.

Ash continued staring at her for a few seconds before he got what Eevee wanted. "You want to go through the pokedex to see what moves your species can learn, right?"

" **Eevee!** " she nodded emphatically, pleased that her trainer finally got what she wanted.

"Alright then, there you go," Ash said, as he took out his pokedex. Ash and Eevee went through the entire move set of Eevee. Suddenly, Eevee got excited and pointed at something on the pokedex. When Ash saw what it was, he looked at her uncertainly.

"Are you sure, Eevee? This will be a tough move to learn. It may take you weeks to learn this, probably even more time than it will take you to learn Iron Tail. You could learn a couple of other moves in that time."

" **Vee, Eevee** ," she nodded. Her eyes were determined and Ash knew that she would not be convinced otherwise. So Ash just nodded his acceptance to her learning that move. He knew Eevee was in for a frustrating month or two, but it would be up to Ash to support her best.

Eevee had swung for the fence on this one. She wanted to learn the move Shadow Ball. It was one of the most powerful ghost type attacks. Eevee would have to first familiarize herself with ghostly energy and then make it powerful enough to collect all that energy into a ball that was flung at the opponent. For now, Ash just asked her to meditate. As a normal type pokemon, Eevee has no ghostly energy. Eevee would have to feel the energy in the air around her and sift through it to find the natural ghostly energy that exists. This is what Ash had Eevee start with.

Nothing of note happened for a couple of days more, but then Pikachu had mastered Double Team. This time, instead of Ash commanding Pikachu to learn a new move, he discussed it with his starter. They both decided that the best move for Pikachu to learn at the moment is Electro Ball. It was a queer move, in which the damage dealt to the opponent depended not on the move's power, but on how much faster the user is as compared to his opponent. And as such, it was perfect for Pikachu, considering that he was naturally faster than most pokemon. Combine it with paralyzing opponents with Thunder Wave, and Pikachu had a potentially devastating move.

Electro Ball is not that difficult to learn, considering that all the user had to do was make an electric orb and then hurl it at the opponent. The difficulty came in concentrating the electric power into a ball. Pikachu was used to shooting electricity as waves, and as such, never had to concentrate his power. That is what Ash had Pikachu start with. Ash was confident in Pikachu's ability to get this move soon. Perhaps even before he learns Iron Tail.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

A week later finds Ash and his pokemon at another clearing, getting ready for their evening session. There was an air of excitement around camp. Flabebe, with the constant training and battling, had mastered Razor Leaf. Ash was about to have her start learning a new move the next day as he wanted her to spend this session practicing her old moves. He didn't want her getting rusty.

Dratini too had made a breakthrough in learning Twister. He had successfully learned to channel his draconic energy to displace the air around him. He had even started forming a small twister. Now, all that remains is for him to put more power into the move and then control it. He should have it down by the time they reach Pewter City in a week.

Pikachu was in a similar situation when it came to Electro Ball. He had managed to form a small electric orb, now all that is left is for him to increase its power and control the increased power. Similar to Dratini, Ash expected Pikachu to master the move by the end of the week.

Eevee was, as expected, having the toughest time. In a week, all she had managed to do was identify the natural ghostly energy. Now, she will start learning to harness it. It will probably still take her a long time to learn this move.

But despite all this, the excitement was caused as a result of this morning's training session. After ten days of continuous training, Pikachu's tail had finally turned metallic at the end of the session. Instead of the normal training session in the evening, his pokemon would work on Iron Tail. Ash hoped that Pikachu would pass on his experience to Eevee and Dratini, and they too can make the breakthrough in learning Iron Tail.

And Ash's wish was granted, as an hour later, Eevee's, Pikachu's, and Dratini's tails all glowed silver when they hit the tree trunk with their tails. For now, their tail glowed for two to three seconds before going back to normal. They needed to work on making their tail metallic for however long they wanted and then work on the power behind the move. But still, it was progress.

To speed up the process, each of them moved to a different tree and started training against them. However, Ash soon came to regret the decision as he heard something that no trainer wants to hear, the angry buzzing of a bee. It looked like the tree Pikachu chose to practice on was a Beedril nest. Filled with Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedril. And now they were angry. And they wanted revenge against Ash and his pokemon.

"Fuck!" Ash cursed. "We need to get out of here!" Ash shouted as he started running away from the nest, his pokemon following him. But while the Weedle and the Kakuna were happy to stay where they were, the Beedril were not. They ran after Ash and his pokemon. Some of them released a Poison Sting attack at Ash, who was not expecting it, and was a sitting duck for those attacks. He tried covering his body with his arms in a futile attempt to save himself. But the expected pain did not come.

Instead, Ash heard a gut-wrenching cry of pain from his Flabebe. Ash opened his eyes to see her already knocked out. Poison, one of the main weaknesses of Fairy type pokemon, and Flabebe took the multiple attacks head on, without a thought about her safety. And this pissed Ash off. He was content with trying to run away, at first, hoping the Beedril would leave him and his pokemon alone. But that had not happened. Instead, one of Ash's pokemon, a member of his family, was badly injured.

"Pikachu, blast them away! Dratini, paralyze them. Eevee, use Quick Attack at the paralyzed Beedril and knock them out," commanded Ash as he returned Flabebe. Pikachu released a powerful Thundershock, angered by the attack on his teammate. It was powerful enough to knock out the Beedril, or, at least, the Beedril the attack struck. The rest dodged the attack and charged up a Twineedle attack. They were momentarily pushed back by Dratini's Thunder Wave, but the majority of them dodged this attack as well.

They charged again, but Pikachu had recovered enough to hit them with another Thundershock. Eevee and Dratini were trying their best to help, but their lack of offensive moves was rather telling in this battle. Eventually, the numbers of the Beedril was showing, as Ash saw them start to surround Pikachu. So, as Pikachu pushed them slightly back with another Thundershock, Ash rushed forward to cover Pikachu's body with his own.

The Beedril continued attacking, not paying heed to whether they were attacking human or pokemon. The Beedril were suddenly blown back by a powerful Twister attack sent by an enraged Dratini, who was absolutely furious about the attack on his trainer. By the time the Beedril left Ash and Pikachu because of the Twister attack, Ash's body was covered in welts. He knew that he had been poisoned as well. He had to finish this battle, and soon. Or he might not make it.

He turned to Dratini with a proud smile on his face despite the amount of pain he is in. His pokemon had surrounded him and were glaring at the Beedril with a look of hatred on their faces. He had never seen his pokemon so angry in his life before. "Congratulations, Dratini. You have finally learnt Twister. Now, how about we finish this battle. Eevee, use Helping Hand on Dratini. Dratini, use Twister once you've received the boost. Eevee, Helping Hand on Pikachu. Pikachu, Thundershock. Repeat till these Beedril are unconscious."

Helping Hand was a move that raised the ally's power by half. And it showed its effectiveness here. Dratini's Twister and Pikachu's Thundershock combined to form an electrified Twister that knocked the Beedril unconscious. Once done, all three turned to Ash with looks of concern on their faces. Ash turned to his backpack and removed an antidote and a pain killer for humans and swallowed them with the help of some water.

He turned to the three and asked them if they were okay. They nodded their heads before making sounds of distress, looking at Ash's wounds with concern. Humans had a much more delicate body than pokemon after all. He smiled at them assuredly, before saying, "I will be fine guys. A good night's rest and I will be right as rain tomorrow. Can you find a place for us to camp for the night? I'll heal Flabebe till then."

While Dratini left to go look for shelter, Ash sprayed Pikachu with a potion. While it was miraculous that Pikachu was not poisoned, he was still covered with bruises. Next, he released Flabebe, and it was obvious that despite being unconscious, she was in pain. It hurt Ash to see her like that. Even the usually aloof Eevee was doing her best to help Flabebe in any way she could. Ash injected her with a full heal to help her with the poison, before giving her a revive.

Flabebe blearily opened her eyes before she was glomped by Ash. "I'm so sorry you were hurt like that, Flabebe. You were so brave taking that attack for me. Thank you."

" **Fla! Flabebe!** " she said as she waved her tiny arms about. Ash released her only for her to get a similar treatment from Pikachu and Eevee. Dratini joined in too when he returned from finding a place to sleep for the night. As Ash dressed his wounds, he looked at his team talking to each other with pride. They had just been through their first tough test as a team and had managed to pass it. While things looked dicey for a moment, his team had pulled through with only minor injuries.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash opened his eyes blearily to see the sun in the sky already. It was the day after the Beedril incident and Ash could be forgiven for sleeping in for the first time in more than three years. Ash groaned as he got up, his body stiff and aching from the many bruises he had collected yesterday. His PokeNav showed the time to be 10.00 am.

Ash stretched his stiff body as he got up but stopped short when he turned to the clearing. He saw his pokemon hard at work despite the rain that had started falling last night. From the tired look of their bodies, they had been at it for quite a while as well. Pikachu, Eevee, and Dratini were determined to get iron tail working as their tails lit up with a metallic sheen and stayed like that for almost 10 seconds, more than doubling the maximum time they could hold it for yesterday. Flabebe was going about alternating between using Vine Whip, Fairy Wind, and Razor Leaf.

Ash had never been more proud of his pokemon but decided to stop the training now. All his pokemon looked exhausted. He called out a good morning to his pokemon and called them to him. He was nearly bowled over by all four of them greeting him before moving back sheepishly.

"Great to see you guys too!" Ash laughed. "I see you guys are training without me today." His pokemon nodded before looking at Ash with concern asking about his condition. Ash smiled at them assuredly before telling them he was feeling better and would be good as new in a few days. After that, they had breakfast while interacting with each other happily. It looked like whatever small differences were there before were gone now, and all of them were bonding like a true family. Ash was ecstatic, his dream of him and his pokemon behaving like a family was already coming true.

After Ash and his pokemon finished their breakfast, Ash decided to continue travelling. The rain had slowed down to a slight drizzle by now and Ash didn't want to waste time. Ash had returned all his pokemon other than Pikachu to their pokeballs, as they wanted to rest. Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder as he started walking towards the exit of Viridian Forest. They had already spent ten days in the Forest, and it was enough for Ash. He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Five days later, Ash was close to the exit of the Forest. It was an hour or so away, according to the map. It had been an eventful week so far. His pokemon had taken to training with a new intensity now after the close call with the Beedril. The physical conditioning training that Ash put his pokemon through was finally showing effects. Pikachu was faster than what he was four weeks ago when they started their journey. Eevee, too, was getting faster, especially after learning Quick Attack. Flabebe and Dratini were getting used to fluidly dodging attacks thrown at them, and all four pokemon were getting used to hitting a moving opponent with their moves. This was improving their accuracy and the speed of their attacks.

It also seemed like teaching Pikachu, Eevee, and Dratini Iron Tail at the same time was beneficial. In the end, they have developed a competition among themselves as to who would learn the move the quickest. As a result, all three ended up learning the move on the same day, which was in fact, yesterday.

Pikachu had also almost mastered Electro Ball. He was able to pour enough power to make the Electro Ball, now he just had to control it. Eevee was still struggling with Shadow Ball while Flabebe and Dratini started learning new moves.

Flabebe started learning Magical Leaf, a special type attack. This attack is similar to Razor Leaf. However, the difference is that while in Razor Leaf, you hurl the leaves at your opponent, in Magical Leaf, the leaves hone in on the target and never miss. It is an attack that can never be dodged, only countered.

Dratini started learning Dragon Rage. Now that he had learnt how to channel and control his draconic energy, Ash thought that giving him another dragon type move to learn will be a good idea. Dragon Rage is a move in which the user concentrates his draconic power and shoots it at his opponent. Now that they had learnt Iron Tail, Ash was just going to concentrate on teaching his pokemon one move at a time. It was a more efficient process and the pokemon was less tired at the end of the day.

Ash's thought process was disturbed when Pikachu called out to him, his sharp ears picking out the rustling to Ash's left. Suddenly from the bushes a boy wearing a fake looking samurai gear shot out swinging his sword at Ash. Before he could reach three feet near Ash, he was blasted by a powerful thundershock from Pikachu who was angry at the audacity of another human attacking his trainer.

"What the hell do you think you are doing by swinging your sword like that?" Ash demanded angrily.

"I just wanted to know if you were from Pallet Town and if you were, I wanted to challenge you to a pokemon battle." The fake samurai groaned.

"There are better ways to challenge someone to a pokemon battle," Ash spoke out furiously.

"You don't understand. I am a samurai, this is our way of challenging someone to a battle. It doesn't matter, are you a trainer from Pallet Town?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you want to know?"

"My name is Samurai, and I live in this forest. I have challenged three trainers from Pallet Town and lost to all of them. I have to regain my honour."

'Hmm seems like this guy's already been beaten by Gary, Leaf, and Jonathan,' Ash mused. 'Well, why not, his pokemon could use the experience and Ash wanted to know how he stacked up against his hometown rivals. Plus, the money he would earn on winning the battle would go to his funds for buying TMs.'

"Sure, why not. What are the rules?"

"Before that, I would like to know your name."

"Oh right. My name is Ash Ketchum, and I am from Pallet Town."

"Two on two. No substitutions are allowed."

"Cool, you're up buddy," Ash told Pikachu.

Samurai threw his pokeball calling out "Pinsir, I choose you!"

This surprised Ash. Pinsir was one of the more powerful bug-type pokemon. Also, it was not from Viridian Forest, so Ash wondered where this fake Samurai got it from. Regardless, it should be an interesting battle. It would let Ash know if he is training his pokemon well since all the previous battles were ridiculously simple. He snapped out of his thoughts as he focused on the battle.

"Pinsir, use Vice Grip."

"Dodge with quick attack. Thunder Wave."

Pikachu easily dodged Pinsir's vice grip attack. Pinsir was too committed to his attack and easily fell prey to the thunder wave attack. Its limbs locked up in paralyses and it angrily snapped its massive jaws in frustration.

"No, Pinsir! Try to use Vice Grip again."

"Hit it with Quick Attack. Once it's down, use Iron Tail. Finish it with another Quick Attack if the Pinsir is still conscious." Ash commented calmly, sure he had victory in his grasp.

The Pinsir tried valiantly to hit Pikachu with a vice grip, but it honestly stood no chance. It was much slower than Pikachu normally, forget about catching him when it was paralysed. Pinsir could just stand there and take the powerful Quick Attack which pushed it onto its back. It watched helplessly as Pikachu's glowing tail smashed into its chest before unconsciousness blissfully overcame him.

"Alright, Pikachu! That was awesome! That Pinsir stood no chance against you!" Ash exclaimed happily.

" **Pi Pikachu!** "

"Grrr your Pikachu is strong, but it will not be able to defeat my next pokemon," Samurai growled out in frustration. "Go Metapod. Metapod has the best defence and it is only made stronger by harden attack. Your Pikachu can keep hitting it, but it will do no damage to my Metapod. You'll never be able to defeat me this way." He boasted before continuing, "Metapod! Use Harden."

Metapod glowed brightly signifying its body hardening while Ash groaned at meeting another trainer with such a ridiculous thought process. He was in no mood to deal with this so he snapped out, "Pikachu, Thundershock. Keep at it till the Metapod faints." Pikachu's Thundershock hit the Metapod who cried out in pain before falling unconscious two seconds later.

"What?! But how? How did you get past my ultimate defence?" Samurai growled out in frustration, not being able to process what just happened.

"Are you being serious?" Ash asked, finally getting frustrated with this thought process after hearing it every day for the last two weeks. "You do know that harden only lessens the damage from a physical attack, right? It has no effect on special attacks like Thundershock. On top of that, it only slightly lessens the power behind physical attacks. Even if you continued to use harden, my Pikachu would have easily beaten it using his Iron Tail attack." Ash lectured in frustration.

Samurai looked downtrodden at Ash's lecture. "I thought I could have challenged you since you are a novice trainer, but you have just shown me how much of a novice I am." He suddenly looked Ash in the eye and said, "Thank you for this battle, Ash. I really learnt a lot from it." Ash could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"Ummm no problem. Say, you said you lived here, right? Do you know how far the exit from the forest is? The map says around an hour, but I just wanted to confirm."

"Your map is right. You follow this trail for an hour or so, and you should reach the exit. Are you looking to challenge gym leader Brock?"

"Thank you, and yes I am. This will be our first gym battle."

"Is that so? Then I'll wish you the best of luck. Goodbye." With that, Samurai walked away, probably towards his house.

"Thank you!" Ash called out at his retreating back. He turned to Pikachu and said, "Let's go. I don't know about you, but I am tired of this forest."

" **Pikaa** ," Pikachu murmured in agreement.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash and Pikachu were standing outside the Pewter City Gym. It had been five days since the battle with that weird Samurai kid. They had reached Pewter City two days ago but had spent the time resting. Ash wanted to make sure that his pokemon were in peak condition when he challenged Brock. He still wasn't sure which pokemon he would use. Pikachu was a given, he was his strongest pokemon. The second was a toss-up between Flabebe and Dratini. Dratini had the powerful dragon type attacks to call upon, and he had the super effective Iron Tail as well. Flabebe had the two super effective grass type attacks. Eevee, however only had Iron Tail. And not to demean her, but Ash thought that if Pikachu can't beat Brock's pokemon, Eevee would not be able to either.

He was excited about the battle but was nervous as well. Shaking off the anxiety, Ash squared his shoulders and pushed open the massive doors of the gym.

The inside of the gym was pitch black. Suddenly a voice called out "Who are you? What are you here for?" making Ash jump into the air. A tactic to make challengers nervous no doubt, Ash was reluctant to admit that it was working.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before replying. "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I challenge you to a gym battle." Ash tried to keep his voice as calm as possible but wasn't too sure if he kept all the nervousness out of his voice.

"Very well." The voice responded before the gym was lit up, showing a young teenage boy sitting calmly on the rocks. "My name is Brock Harrison and I am the gym leader of Pewter City. How long have you been a pokemon trainer and how many badges do you have?"

"I have been a trainer for a month and this is my first gym battle."

"Oh, is that so? The other trainers from Pallet Town challenged me more than a week ago."

"Well, I decided to do some training before challenging you to a battle."

"Smart, let's see if it paid off. Now, let's get this battle started."

With that, the ground rippled before it moved aside revealing a more rugged area with a few rocks around. Ash stood at the challenger's box and Brock stood at the gym leader's. The referee stepped up to the podium and announced.

"This is a gym battle between Brock Harrison of the Pewter City gym and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. This will be a two-on-two battle and only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokemon. The trainers will now release their first pokemon."

"Go! Geodude!" Brock exclaimed, sending out his first pokemon.

Geodude was a gray pokemon that looked like a boulder. It had bulging, rocky eyebrows, and trapezoidal, brown eyes. Its arms were muscular with five-fingered hands. Ash took out his pokedex and scanned it.

 **Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks.**

"Alright! Let's do this Pikachu!"

" **Pika Pika** " Pikachu stood on all four legs ready to begin his battle against Geodude. He was determined to win this, to show Ash how his training had paid off.

"You're challenging me with a Pikachu? Pikachu is an electric type. You don't think you can beat me with him, do you? Because, honestly, it seems to still be in its "cute" phase." Brock commented on Ash's choice seriously, no hint of malice in them while describing Pikachu.

" **Pikaaa** " Pikachu growled out threateningly, his cheeks sparking, not liking Brock's comment.

"I am confident in my choice of pokemon." Ash defended. "Don't judge my Pikachu before even battling him. He is much more powerful than he looks."

"Very well, it's your funeral. This should be an easy win."

Ash scowled but didn't say anything as he heard the referee ask if the trainers were ready. On receiving nods, he shouted, "Begin!"

"Geodude, Tackle attack!"

"Dodge it with Quick Attack Pikachu, then use the momentum generated to hit it with Iron Tail."

On seeing Pikachu dodge Geodude's attack with ease, Brock shouted "Harden". Despite getting hit by a super effective move, Geodude didn't take too much damage as harden only increased its already powerful defense.

"Not bad, you're better than I expected. But it's time to finish this. Rollout!"

"Dodge it Pikachu and hit with Iron Tail again!"

Things didn't quite work as Ash imagined them to. The iron tail might have struck, but all it did was change Geodude's direction. Geodude just kept coming back with increasing speed making it harder for Pikachu to dodge.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail again." However, by this time, the rollout had gained enough power to power through Pikachu's iron tail attack and hit him.

" **Pikaaa** " Pikachu called out in pain as he was sent almost ten feet back by the power behind that attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted in worry. "Are you alright, buddy?"

" **Pika Pika** ," Pikachu nodded trying to shake off the attack.

"Good, keep using Quick Attack to dodge the Geodude."

Pikachu nodded his head to show he heard. Meanwhile, Ash was racking his brains to figure out a way to stop the Geodude. If this continued any longer, Pikachu would definitely lose. Looking at Pikachu in worry, Ash suddenly had a stroke of inspiration.

"Pikachu, stay where you are." Pikachu nodded his head and listened to his trainer despite seeing the Geodude approach him at high speed. He trusted Ash to have a plan.

"Now, wait till the last second and use your tail as a springboard to jump and hit it with Iron Tail as you come down!"

Pikachu executed Ash's command perfectly and Geodude crashed straight into a boulder that was behind the Pikachu at full power. Its momentum stopped abruptly, Geodude shook its head to clear its confusion as its rollout was stopped forcefully. Before it could orient itself, it was struck by Pikachu's iron tail.

" **Dudeee** " Geodude shouted in pain, finally showing signs of damage.

"Geodude!" Brock shouted his face showing shock at the sudden turn of events the battle just took. "Shake it off and use magnitude."

"Jump high in the air!" Ash shouted frantically as the Geodude smashed its hands into the ground. Pikachu, hearing the panic in his trainer's voice, jumped as high as he could. The ground shook with tremors but Pikachu had luckily dodged the attack.

"Excellent, Geodude! Now finish this with rollout!"

Geodude rolled into a ball before barrelling straight into Pikachu. Pikachu, due to being in the air was a sitting duck and cried out in pain as the rollout attack hit him.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out in worry as his starter fell on the floor with a heavy thud.

Geodude rolled to a stop, thinking the battle was over, its body moving up and down in exertion. Pikachu also struggled to his feet, glaring at the Geodude, not wanting to lose. Both trainers looked at each other knowing that the next attack would decide the battle.

"Rollout!"

"Quick Attack into Iron Tail and smack into the sky!"

Since the rollout hadn't picked out too much momentum yet, Pikachu's iron tail overpowered the rollout and smacked the Geodude into the sky.

"Excellent! Now, use Electro Ball!" Ash shouted in exhilaration, knowing that the battle was as good as over. Pikachu shouted his name before unleashing an electric orb at the airborne Geodude.

Pikachu had mastered Electro Ball the day they had arrived in Pewter City, and Ash was glad of it, as a less known fact about ground type pokemon is that the nature of their bodies grounded electricity, thus nullifying them. However, once they are airborne, they become as vulnerable to electric type attacks as any other pokemon.

Also, a well-known fact about Geodude is their extremely low speed. The speed difference is so high that the Electro Ball would be like an electric version of the Hyper Beam. Geodude had no chance as it was struck by the powerful electric attack and it fell down with swirls in its eyes.

"Geodude is unable to battle, Pikachu wins." The referee announced.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed joyously. "You were absolutely amazing Pikachu!"

" **Pika Pi** " Pikachu exclaimed tiredly.

"Well, I must admit that I didn't expect your Pikachu to defeat my Geodude. You have trained it well. However, you will not be able to defeat my next pokemon. Go, Onix!"

Onix was a snake-shaped pokemon, made up of giant chain of gray boulders that became smaller towards its tail. There was a rocky spine on its head and a pair of black eyes beneath it. And it was huge! As in, gigantic. Almost 30 feet tall. Ash took out his pokedex and scanned the Onix.

 **Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move through the ground at fifty miles per hour.**

"Return, Pikachu. You've earned your rest."

" **Pika Pi** ," Pikachu mumbled gratefully as he slunk back to Ash's side. Ash took out a pokeball and released it while shouting "Let's do this Flabebe!"

The released Flabebe took one look at his opponent and had to shake himself to get rid of the nervousness that came while facing such a gigantic pokemon. Ash and Flabebe had discussed this beforehand, and they had come up with a plan.

"Wow, a Flabebe. They are really rare in Kanto. I must say, she is an impressive pokemon."

"Thank you," Ash grinned in return.

"Trainers are you ready?" the referee shouted. On receiving nods from both of them, he continued. "Begin."

"Onix, start this with Rock Tomb."

"Dodge it. Return fire with Fairy Wind."

Flabebe dodged the rocks thrown at her with ease and sent a blast of fairy wind at the Onix. The difference in power behind the move in the last twenty days was visibly obvious. While the attack was like a small gust of wind when Ash first caught Flabebe, it was now a proper blast of wind which struck the Onix head on. Onix cried out in pain as it suffered damage from the attack.

"No, Onix!" Brock shouted in worry. He had not expected such a powerful attack from Flabebe when he should have considering how powerful Ash's Pikachu is. It looks like Ash has trained all his pokemon equally well. "Use Dig to escape!" With that, Onix disappeared underground.

"Keep your Vine Whip ready," Ash instructed calmly.

"Attack it now. Follow it with rock tomb!" Brock shouted, confident in his upcoming victory. Onix burst through the ground but was unprepared for Flabebe smashing its Vine Whip into the Onix to use its body as a springboard to dodge the Onix's attack. Onix cried out in pain as it was struck by a super effective attack and lost the concentration to perform a Rock Tomb.

"What?" questioned a dumbfounded Brock as he saw another sure shot strategy being countered to hurt his pokemon. This trainer was something else. He was not using brute strength and super effective moves to beat Brock like the rest of his challengers, he was using his brain. He was not overpowering Brock, he was outsmarting him.

"Let's bring this home Flabebe!" Ash instructed with a wild grin on his face. He was bouncing on his toes with excitement at the thought of finally winning his first gym badge as victory was in his hands. "Use Razor Leaf!"

A barrage of razor sharp leaves hit Onix with full force, and Onix screamed in pain before falling unconscious, two super effective moves, coupled with a special based attack, too much for it.

"Onix is unable to battle, Flabebe wins. The victor of this battle is the challenger, Ash Ketchum." The referee announced.

"Yes! We've done it!" Ash exclaimed his joy. "We won our first gym battle! You two were absolutely amazing!"

"These two were," Brock's voice broke Ash from his internal victory dance. The gym leader had already returned his Onix and was standing next to Ash at the challenger's box. "It was an amazing battle, Ash."

"Thanks, Brock. It really was an amazing battle, my best since I started my journey!"

"I figured that out from your expression," Brock smiled. "Here, take this, you've definitely earned this." With that, he took out the Boulder Badge and presented it to Ash.

"Thanks, Brock." Ash took the badge with a dumbstruck look on his face as if just realizing what it meant. He turned to Pikachu and Flabebe and showed them the badge. This was what they worked so hard for, this was what they battled so ferociously for. "Thank you, guys. I could not have asked anything more from you. You were just magnificent." Ash spoke, his voice brimming with passion.

Flabebe tackled Ash into a hug while Pikachu just shouted his name before jumping onto Ash's shoulder and rubbing his head against Ash's in a loving manner. Ash laughed at the affection his pokemon showered him with and returned it wholeheartedly. He broke the embrace before placing the badge in his badge case and turned back to Brock, who was smiling softly at the scene.

"Along with the Boulder Badge, you also get this." With that, he took out a CD. "This is the TM for Rock Tomb. It's a powerful rock type move that will definitely slow your opponent down. Along with that, you get 2000 pokedollars. At least, that's what you get normally."

"What do you mean by normally?" Ash questioned, having caught the last sentence.

"The gym trainers have another option, one they only provide to the most promising trainers they meet. And if one gym trainer thinks you're promising enough, all gym trainers have to abide by it." Brock commented. "Do not go spreading this around, for it is only known to a few people."

"Wow. Do you really think that I am promising enough?" Ash questioned, a little self-conscious.

"Of course, I do. Not only did you beat one of my pokemon with a Pikachu, the love you have for your pokemon is visible, a love they return equally. To forge such bonds in less than a month shows how promising a trainer you are."

"Thanks," Ash muttered shyly while ducking his head. His bashfulness earned a chuckle from Brock. "So, what's this option?" Ash asked, eager to get away from that topic.

"Well, do you know how TMs are just one-time use?" Brock questioned. On receiving Ash's nod in response, Brock continued. "Silph Co. have found a way to make a single TM be used an infinite number of times. It just costs more."

"What! That's amazing!"

"Yes, it is. So the other option is that instead of the 2000 pokedollars, you get a TM for Rock Tomb that can be used an infinite number of times. So Ash, what do you chose?"

"The second one, definitely!" Ash answered. It was a no-brainer, it really was.

"I had a feeling you would choose that." Brock laughed. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Brock! This is amazing." Brock nodded his head in agreement. "Well, I should head out. I need to give Pikachu and Flabebe to Nurse Joy."

"Can I come with you?" Brock asked. "I need to give my Geodude and Onix to Nurse Joy as well."

"Sure." Ash agreed cheerfully, before returning Flabebe to her pokeball. "Come on, let's go." With that, both trainers left the gym. Ash was in high spirits. His pokemon had performed brilliantly against Brock's. He had won his first gym battle, impressing the gym leader enough to get a TM that can be used an infinite number of times. Ash had started his journey perfectly. And he had taken his first step to his dream of being a pokemon master!

 **A/N: Whew. This is my longest chapter to date. Don't expect all chapters to be this long, it will depend on my muse at the time of writing.**

 **I'm looking for a beta. Proof reading such long chapters is difficult and there can be a few mistakes that can slip by me. So, PM me if you are willing to be a beta.**

 **Another thing, I was planning on giving Ash a Squirtle as I wanted him to have at least one starter from Kanto. However, quite a few reviewers want me to give him a Froakie. Some even said Slowpoke. So I am opening a poll. Tell me which water type pokemon you want me to give Ash. I will have to plan some parts of my story around that.**

 **Once again, thank you for the love. Constructive criticism is welcome, it helps me be a better writer.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

 **A/N: Thank you for the follows, favourites, and reviews. When I started this story, I never expected this response. I would especially like to thank iggychan89, RagingSoul, and Snoozing Lurker for their constructive criticism. It will hopefully help me become a better writer.**

 **A/N 2: A massive thank you to stars90 for becoming my beta. He gave some valuable insights in this chapter.**

 **A/N 2: The poll is still up and will continue to be so for another ten days or so. As of now, the poll is heavily biased towards Froakie. So, Ash will be catching a Froakie unless there is a major shift in voting over the next ten days.**

Cascade

Ten days have passed since Ash beat Brock to win his first badge. Ash and Brock had an amicable discussion on Pokemon in the Pokemon Centre while they were waiting for their pokemon to heal. It turns out that Brock never wanted to be a Gym Leader, but wanted to be a Breeder. He was, however, forced to become one as his father abandoned him and his siblings to pursue his dream of becoming a master of rock-type pokemon.

Ash had empathized with Brock's plight since his father had also left him and his mother to become a pokemon master and had never returned. His mother had to give up her dreams to take care of Ash and Ash knew that he could never repay his mother for everything she had done for him.

Other than bonding over their similar abandonment issues, Ash also asked Brock for tips on how to better raise his Pokemon. Since Brock was not only a Gym Leader but also an aspiring Breeder, he would be extremely knowledgeable in taking care of and raising all types of Pokemon. According to Brock, Ash had done a good job in setting the foundation for all of his Pokemon. Now, he had to work on increasing the power behind his pokemon's moves. He also had to start letting his pokemon fight independently with Ash guiding them, instead of commanding their every move.

And Ash had taken the advice to heart and started training his pokemon accordingly. To help increase the power behind their moves, Ash had them use their attacks repeatedly till they got tired. Their special attacks were like a muscle, they became stronger the more they used them. Not only would this increase the power behind their current attacks, it would also train their bodies to learn more powerful attacks.

The rest of their training proceeded as before. After ten days, Flabebe was close to mastering Magical Leaf. She was able to produce the leaves and guide them to her target. The only thing she needed to work on was the number of leaves she produced and the strength behind the attack. The confidence boost she got from her Gym Battle was rather telling as she started to breeze past her opponents in battles. Her tail had started to expand outwards and her ears started to grow bigger, a sign that she was close to evolving. Ash was quite excited to see that, it would be the first time one of his pokemon evolved.

Dratini had mastered Dragon Rage and was starting to show why dragon-type pokemon are revered in the pokemon world. Very few pokemon were strong enough to still be conscious once hit by Dratini's Dragon Rage, and the ones that managed to do so were too injured to fight for much longer. Ash decided to increase Dratini's versatility by having him start learning Thundershock from Pikachu. Ash was hopeful that it would not take too long since Dratini knew how to conduct electrical energy, already knowing Thunder Wave.

Ash had Pikachu start learning Spark, which was, essentially, an electrified Tackle attack. Pikachu charged his opponents while covering his body with a layer of electric energy. It was proving to be difficult for Pikachu so far as till now, Pikachu used electric attacks while standing in one place. Now, he had to concentrate on two things, the first being to charge at the opponent with a Tackle attack and the second being to release a continuous stream of electrical energy while doing so. While struggling right now, Ash was sure that it would not take Pikachu long to master this move. These ten days had allowed him to learn the basics, now he just had to keep practicing till he got it down. Anyway, this move is a must for Pikachu to master as it would provide the basis for learning his egg move, Volt Tackle, later on.

Eevee was still stuck with Shadow Ball and was getting frustrated with each passing training session. While she could successfully isolate ghostly energy in the atmosphere, she still could not control it enough to produce a ball bigger than a tennis ball. Any larger and the ball would destabilize and explode in Eevee's face. The only good part was that since Eevee was a normal-type, she was immune to ghostly energy, and thus, the destabilized ball never hurt her.

As a result of the failed training sessions, Eevee was getting more and more upset. Ash was always there to cheer her up after the training session, but even he could see that it was working less and less every day. To compensate, Ash had her battling more, but her lack of any noticeable progress in learning Shadow Ball was affecting her confidence to such an extent that she started losing battles that she should have won. She started trying too hard resulting in her making silly mistakes leading to a loss. And each loss had a compounding effect on her general mindset making her lose more matches. Ash was just not sure what to do to help her. He resolved to let Eevee work out what to do herself while he supports her the best he can. If it continues after two weeks, the estimated time it would take him to reach Cerulean City and win his second badge, he would have to force her to stop learning this attack and move on.

Ash was harshly brought out of his reverie by an electric shock going through his body. It was not powerful enough to hurt or even paralyze him, but it made every hair on his body stand up. He turned to Pikachu on his shoulder and gave him an annoyed glare as the mouse pokemon snickered at Ash.

"What?" he asked irritably. Don't get him wrong, he knew it was a prank, but who did not get annoyed after receiving an electric shock?

" **Pika Pika!** " replied his starter as he pointed ahead.

Ash turned to see what Pikachu was pointing at, and was awed by the site of a huge mountain jutting out above the trees. The peak extended till the clouds in the sky and the entire view looked magnificent. Being from a small town like Pallet, Ash had never seen mountains, let alone such a huge one. And it seems like Pikachu had not either, as they both stared at the mountain with a spellbound look.

Ash quickly released the rest of his pokemon so that they could also see the site for themselves. Living a sheltered life in the Safari Zone, Ash was sure they too would love to take in this site. Once released, they all looked around for opposing pokemon to battle before looking at Ash with an inquisitive look on their faces. Ash just shook his head to let them know that there was no imminent battle taking place.

On receiving confirmation that there was no imminent battle, they did what they always do. Flabebe zoomed away to look at her surroundings inquisitively and Dratini settled down near Ash content on keeping an eye on the ever curious Flabebe. He had taken the role of watching over the rest of the members in his accepted family, especially after learning Dragon Rage and becoming a more powerful battler. Ash didn't know why Dratini did this, he just assumed it was a trait of the Dratini family.

Eevee on the other hand jumped up and settled in Ash's hands and barked, " **Vee, Eevee!** " letting Ash know her intentions. She wanted to be petted and pampered. Ash really thought that she was too pampered at times. Ash got the attention of his pokemon while softly petting Eevee's head.

"Look at that guys," he said while pointing at the mountain a little further away. "That is Mt. Moon. We will be reaching there in an hour or so and will be crossing that to reach Cerulean City. It looks amazing doesn't it?" he asked to receive a general cry of approval from his pokemon. After basking in the glory of the huge mountain, Ash withdrew his pokemon and continued on to Mt. Moon.

About an hour later, Ash saw the Pokemon Centre that was at the base of Mt. Moon. It was set up so that trainers could heal their pokemon before starting their journey in Mt. Moon. While the path to Cerulean City was small and mapped out, Mt. Moon itself was huge and filled with powerful Pokemon. While Ash would love to explore the mountain, he knew that his Pokemon were too weak right now to go up against the more powerful pokemon in the area. Ash resolved to come back to this place after winning a few badges to thoroughly explore the area.

As Ash was closing in on the Pokemon Centre, he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Jonathan waving at him.

"Hey, Jonathan!" Ash exclaimed as his childhood friend caught up to him. "How are you? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be close to Cerulean City by now?"

"Hey, Ash," Jonathan replied. "I'm good. I decided to stop and train before the first gym battle since Charmander is weak to rock-type pokemon. I'm guessing you did the same considering your starter is Pikachu?"

"Hahaha, yep. And it was so worth it when I got my first badge!"

"Oh, so you won the badge as well? Awesome! Seems like we are at the same stage in our journey then, but I'm just better than you," said Jonathan with a grin on his face.

"Oh, yeah!" said Ash as he too replied with a grin on his face as he saw where Jonathan was going with this. "Care to prove that?"

"Anytime! How about a three-on-three battle? It will be good practice for our upcoming gym battle."

"You're on! Be ready to eat your words, Jonathan. You're going down!"

The beginning gym battles were meant to prepare you for future gym battles. So while the battles started off with two-on-two battles, they then became three-on-three battles and finally the third gym is a four-on-four battle, similar to the remaining gym battles, but with weaker pokemon. Since Ash and Jonathan were challenging for the second gym badge, they both would be up against a three-on-three battle and as Jonathan said, it would be good practice for the upcoming gym challenge.

Ash and Jonathan separated to start the battle. While Jonathan threw the pokeball containing his first Pokemon, Ash asked Pikachu to battle. Out of Jonathan's pokeball came an avian pokemon covered in brown feathers. It had a pinkish-red coloured crest and an alternating set of red and yellow coloured feathers at its tail. A Pidgeotto, the evolved form of Pidgey.

"You're starting with Pikachu?" questioned a surprised Jonathan. "Damn," he cursed. "Come on Pidgeotto. Even if they have the type advantage, we can win! Let's start with Quick Attack!"

"Thundershock," replied Ash calmly.

Pidgeotto dived down towards Pikachu in a streak of light which he dodged with ease, using his own Quick Attack. He sent a bolt of electricity at Pidgeotto who flew high into the air to avoid the attack. Pidgeotto angled towards Pikachu again but it was for naught as he was faster than the bird pokemon and was dodging the Quick Attacks with ease. He didn't counter with Thundershock for he knew that Pidgeotto would just fly out of the way of the attack again.

Ash frowned as he came to the same conclusion as his starter. His frown deepened as realised that this was a ploy by Jonathan to tire out Pikachu, for even he knew that unless Ash and Pikachu made a mistake, the first round would go to Ash. Not wanting the match to drag on further, Ash decided to take the initiative in the battle for the first time.

"Get ready to evade. Angle the landing on your opponent's back. Shock it," he commanded. He deliberately worked on using one word instructions so that his opponents had a lesser idea about what his plans were and could not come up with an effective counter. Of course, he had spent time making sure his Pokemon understood his one-word instructions.

Evade was code for dodging by jumping into the air, whether by use of tail or Vines or anything else. And that is what Pikachu did as he used his tail as a springboard and landed on Pidgeotto's back. As both trainer and Pokemon let out a surprised sound at what Pikachu did, Pikachu had already charged a powerful Thundershock and sent it at the bird pokemon. Pidgeotto let out a pained scream as it was electrocuted and fell down unconscious a few seconds later, not able to contend with the super effective move.

"Pidgeotto!" Jonathan screamed as he immediately withdrew him back into the pokeball. "Get some rest, I'll take you to the pokemon centre as soon as we are done here." He then turned his attention to Ash and said, "Your Pikachu is strong. To be able to take out my Pidgeotto with one attack is amazing. No electric pokemon has been able to do that till now."

"Thanks," grinned Ash. "We trained hard."

"I can tell. This is turning out to be more fun than I thought. Let's do this, Nidoran!" with that, Jonathan released a pink-coloured rodent type pokemon. Its horn and its ears were slightly bigger than average, and the purple patches on its skin showed that it was close to evolution, something Ash commented on.

"Your Nidoran looks on the cusp of evolving. How much did you train it?" Ash was slightly questioning his training methods considering that Jonathan's Pidgey had already evolved and Nidoran was close to doing so. Going by this evidence, Ash was sure that his Charmander was close to evolving or had evolved as well. Here, only one of Ash's pokemon was close to evolving. And his Eevee was struggling. So Ash was second guessing his abilities.

"Yep," came the flippant reply from Jonathan. "The second gym is of water-type pokemon. Charmander will be at a huge disadvantage here. So I'm training Nidoran and Pidgey as much as I can so that they can get a victory for me."

"Hmm," Ash hummed in reply.

"Let's start, shall we? Nidoran, Poison Sting!"

"Use Iron Tail to block the attack. Follow it with Thundershock." The thin pencil-shaped strings of light bounced harmlessly off Pikachu's tail after which he sent a powerful bolt of electricity at the Nidoran. The Nidoran was aware enough of his environment to dodge the attack without any prompting from a shell-shocked Jonathan.

"Hey! What the hell! Why is your Pikachu not poisoned?" he cried out.

"Umm, you do remember that poison-type attacks do not affect steel, right?"

"Oh, ohh…." Jonathan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah," Ash smirked. "Pikachu, stun it."

"Dodge whatever it is and use Tackle," shouted Jonathan having learnt from the previous battle to take Ash's cryptic commands seriously. And it was a good thing too as stun was a code word for using Thunder Wave. Nidoran nimbly dodged the Thunder Wave and charged at Pikachu with its full speed.

"Dodge it Pikachu. Do NOT get hit by the Nidoran as even a slight touch is enough for you to get poisoned!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu heeded his trainer's advice as it went into a burst of speed, leaving a yellow flash, and avoided the attack.

"Quick Tail," Ash called out. Quick Tail was basically an amalgamation of Quick Attack and Iron Tail, where his pokemon used the speed generated by Quick Attack to hit harder.

"Meet it with Double Kick!"

Both Pokemon jumped into the air to use their moves. One's tail glowed silver while the other's feet shone brightly as both Pokemon crashed into each other. The impact was great as both of them flew back with a cry of pain and collided harshly with the floor. It was obvious that both Pokemon took damage from that collision as they shakily got back onto their feet. Unfortunately for Ash and Pikachu, Nidoran made it to his feet first.

"Awesome, Nidoran! Now's our chance! Use Poison Sting!" shouted an exuberant Jonathan as he sensed a shift in the momentum of the battle. By the time Pikachu regained his bearings from the collision, numerous needle-shaped streams of energy full of poison struck him all over his body.

" **Pikaaa** ," Pikachu shouted in pain as he glowed a slight purple signifying that he had been poisoned.

"Alright! Great job, Nidoran! Let's finish this. Full powered Tackle attack!"

"Blind spot! Electro Ball. If it is still conscious, shock it," Ash commanded a bit forcefully as he realised the severity of the situation. Pikachu now had a race against time, considering that he was poisoned. Pikachu quickly regained his bearings as he saw Nidoran approach him. Blind spot was a command for using Quick Attack and using the speed to go behind the opponent and attacking from their ' _blind spot'_ so that they had lesser time to react. And that is what happened as by the time Nidoran realised what happened and turned around to face Pikachu, a circular orb of electric energy slammed into him.

Nidoran screamed in pain due to the powerful attack, but had no time to recover as he was hit by a powerful bolt of electricity. The Thundershock was powerful enough to finish the fight as Nidoran fell down with swirls in his eyes.

"Nidoran!" shouted Jonathan as he fumbled around for a pokeball. "You did great buddy. Return." Turning to Ash, he continued, "Wow, Ash. That Pikachu of yours is turning out to be even more powerful than I thought. But let's see how he fares against my starter. Go, Charmander!"

Out came a bipedal reptilian pokemon that was primarily orange-coloured but had patches of crimson on its body showing that Ash's earlier assumption that it was close to evolving was correct.

"Be careful, Charmander! That Pikachu is powerful and has already taken out Pidgeotto and Nidoran," cautioned Jonathan getting a grunt of acknowledgement from his starter.

"You okay to continue Pikachu, or do you want to rest and sit this one out? You've done enough already and the poison must be hurting you," Ash asked his starter in concern.

" **Pika Pi** ," came the immediate reply from Pikachu as he affirmed his choice to fight.

"Alright, Pikachu, if you say so! Then let's start this with Electro Ball!"

"Counter with an Ember barrage. Don't let it get a moment's rest, Charmander. It's already poisoned."

The orb of electricity sent by Pikachu was hit by a small ball of flame that immediately destabilized the attack causing it blow up midway. The barrage of flames continued on towards Pikachu who immediately started dodging the attacks that flowed him wherever he went. Ash frowned as he realized that Pikachu could not keep dodging forever as the poison will cause him to stop at any time.

"Quick Tail!"

As Pikachu picked up the pace and his tail started glowing brightly, Jonathan countered, "Block it with Metal Claw!"

The hard-as-steel tail collided with the hard-like-steel claws of Charmander causing both pokemon to go into a stalemate as they tried overpowering each other unsuccessfully. Suddenly, Pikachu's cheeks started sparking which was the only warning Charmander got as it was struck by a Thundershock causing him to cry out in pain as it was sent stumbling backwards.

"Awesome, Pikachu! Let's finish this with an Electro Ball!" Ash cheered. However, before Pikachu could begin charging the move, he grimaced in pain as poison shot through his body again before he suddenly fell down, clearly unconscious, the poison taking a toll on his body. "Pikachu!" Ash cried out as he ran to his starter and picked him up. He quickly went back to his backpack as he gave him a Full Heal, and commented, "You were absolutely brilliant, Pikachu. You managed to defeat two of his Pokemon that were very well trained and even managed to land a blow on his third. I could not have asked more from you. Get some rest, buddy. You deserve it."

" **Pika, Pikachu** ," came the murmured reply from his starter as he quickly fell asleep. Ash smiled as he petted Pikachu on his head before turning back to the battlefield. He tossed the pokeball onto the makeshift battlefield as he said, "Let's do this. Your opponent is already weak." In a flash of light, Eevee stood on ready to fight.

"Eevee, huh? Interesting. Ember barrage!"

"Quick Attack!"

In a streak of white, Eevee disappeared, dodging the numerous balls of fire shooting towards him, as he tackled Charmander at full speed. Charmander just growled as he kept getting hit from all sides by Eevee darting around. It kept shooting bursts of fire and tried to hit Eevee with its Metal Claw, but Eevee was too fast, too nimble as it kept whittling away at Charmander.

"You're doing great, Eevee," Ash encouraged. "Keep at it." Eevee needed the boost and she needed this win desperately, considering her recent slump in matches.

"Charmander, you have to get out of there!" Jonathan exclaimed. If this continued, Charmander wouldn't last long as it had already taken some damage from Pikachu. Jonathan was starting to lose hope after a few more seconds of this continuing before Charmander let out a roar and the flame on its tail started growing hotter and started turning white. It rose a few inches as Charmander activated Blaze, an ability of some fire-type pokemon where their fire attacks became much more powerful.

"Eevee, get out of there!" Ash exclaimed as he finally realised what was going on since this is the first time he had seen a Pokemon entering Blaze, but it was too late as Charmander surrounded itself in a huge circle of flame that finally managed to impact Eevee, who was sent flying back in pain.

"Woohoo! Way to go Charmander! Finish this with Ember!"

"Evade!" Ash shouted frantically, but it was for naught as Ash laid witness to the effects of blaze. What was first a tennis-ball sized burst of fire was now the size of a truck as it barrelled towards poor Eevee who was a sitting duck for that attack.

"Return," Ash shouted as he managed to return Eevee safely to her pokeball before she got damaged from that powerful Ember attack, as Charmander roared victoriously. "You did well, Eevee," Ash tried to reassure her. "You had Charmander on the ropes and would have won if not for the sudden activation of Blaze. I'm proud of you, Eevee. That Charmander was powerful, on the cusp of evolving. You are stronger than you realize." With that, he put her pokeball back on his belt, not knowing that Eevee had gotten a tiny boost of confidence from that. The thought that she was not a weakling like she had started to think of herself over the last week was planted in her mind.

Ash turned to Jonathan and grimaced. "Okay, I did not expect that. I thought Eevee had that for sure."

"So did I. But Charmander was awesome!" Jonathan grinned in reply. "It looked doubtful that Charmander would be able to beat three of your pokemon considering how powerful your Pikachu was and how Eevee was defeating him, but with Blaze, I'm sure that I will be winning this," he boasted.

"Oh, don't get ahead of yourself. This match is far from over. I'm still confident in my victory. Let's do this." With that, Ash tossed out Dratini's pokeball. He chose Dratini over Flabebe as all of Flabebe's grass-type attacks would be burnt out by Charmander's Blaze, leaving only Fairy Wind. Ash made a mental note to increase Flabebe's versatility so that this never happens again.

"What the fuck!" exclaimed Jonathan. "Where did you catch a Dratini? How? When? What?" Ash loved the reactions he got from people when he sent out Dratini on to battle. Their flabbergasted expressions were so worth recording and Ash did just that as he used the camera feature of the PokeNav to take Jonathan's photo. He would so circulate that to everyone back home!

He put aside his PokeNav and decided to get serious. "Dratini, be careful of the Charmander's flames. They are hotter than they normally are."

Jonathan shook his head comically as he tried regaining his bearings. "Even if you have a Dratini, Charmander will defeat it. Charmander, use your Ember again and finish this match."

"The same trick won't work twice!" Ash exclaimed as Dratini used his dexterity to dodge the towering ball of flame. "Let's finish this match, Dratini. Dragon Rage." An equally large attack, this time made of draconic energy struck Charmander who was too tired to move. Charmander was damaged enough that another attack should have been powerful enough to take it down, but since Dragon Rage is such a powerful move, the result was a foregone conclusion as Charmander emerged from the powerful shockwave with swirls in its eyes.

"It seems like I need to work harder," said a dejected Jonathan as he withdrew his Charmander. "You've trained your pokemon well, Ash. If not for Pikachu getting poisoned or the sudden activation of Blaze, I don't think my pokemon would have been able to beat a single one of yours."

"Hehe, thanks." Ash muttered as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Praise never sat well with him. "But my Pokemon deserve all the credit. They've done all the hard work."

"That's not true! My pokemon work hard as well, but I think that I have not trained them properly. I had grown complacent. But I've realised that now. And things will change. And next time we meet, it will be I who will beat you!"

"We will see," smirked Ash as he was lovingly petting Dratini's head as he was cooing in contentment. "Come, let's get our Pokemon healed." With that, both childhood friends started walking to the pokemon centre.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash had just finished a conversation with his mother when Nurse Joy announced on the speaker that his Pokemon were fully healed. Jonathan had already taken his pokemon and left, saying that he intended to cross Mt. Moon and train for the upcoming gym. It turns out that a Pokemon takes longer to heal if it has been poisoned which is why it took longer for Ash's Pokemon to heal.

Ash wasted no time in collecting his Pokemon. He wanted to cross Mt. Moon today, and it was already afternoon. He released Pikachu, whom he had put in his pokeball to be in stasis till he was healed, while clipping the rest of his pokeballs on his belt.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" he asked Pikachu as the mouse pokemon bounded up his shoulder.

" **Pika Pi! Pi Pikachu!** " he exclaimed happily.

"Good to hear that. You were excellent in the fight today. You deserve a treat for that," Ash smirked.

" **Pikaaa** ," came the shouted exclamation from his starter as he anticipated getting his favourite treat.

"Yes, Pikachu," Ash said in good humour. "You'll get ketchup with dinner tonight." Ash had discovered this crazy quirk in his starter a while back when they had eaten food in a restaurant in Pewter City to commemorate their first gym badge. Pikachu LOVED ketchup. He could guzzle down an entire bottle of ketchup at a time. After that, Pikachu had begged Ash for more ketchup every time he could, but Ash always stood firm. Ketchup was not healthy, so Pikachu was restricted to having ketchup once in a while. Which explained Pikachu's over the top celebration as he literally started twirling around like a ballerina in celebration to having his favourite food, causing Ash to sweatdrop.

"Alright, buddy," Ash stopped any future celebrations from the tiny mouse-pokemon. "We need to get going." Ash shook his head at Pikachu as he continued dancing around as they left the pokemon centre, Ash waving a goodbye to the kind Nurse Joy.

Mt. Moon was a quiet place. The League had dug tunnels through the mountain to make a path for trainers to reach from Pewter City to Cerulean City. Ash and Pikachu were looking around the place in awe, having never been in the inside of the mountain. Stalagmites and stalactites littered the place. Lights were put up at the top of the tunnel sporadically to make sure that trainers didn't lose their way. They shined on the boulders that were visible everywhere, making them shine as if covered by moss.

Once Ash got over the excitement of being in a new place, he realised something was wrong. Mt. Moon was the home of a multitude of pokemon, and while all of them were not visible to trainers who took the main path from Pewter City to Cerulean City, enough were visible to stand out. In particular, the path was supposed to be full of Geodudes and Zubats, but they were not visible anywhere. In fact, Ash could not hear the high pitched sound that Zubats make as a means of travelling, something that should be obvious in a place that is home to entire colonies of Zubat.

"Be careful, Pikachu. Something is not right here," Ash warned his starter.

" **Pika, Pika** ," Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Ten minutes were spent walking in a similar, cautious way when they came across the source of the trouble in the cave. And trouble it was in the form of a man and a woman. The woman had long, red hair while the male had blue-coloured hair. In the middle of the duo was a Meowth standing on its legs. As soon as they saw Ash, they started…singing?

"Prepare for trouble," started the woman.

"And make it double," continued the man.

However, before they could continue further, Ash took a glimpse at their t-shirts which had a bright R printed in bold on it.

"Hold on, you're Team Rocket. What the fuck are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, so the brat recognizes us?" taunted the woman.

"This makes it easier for us," continued the man. ' _Seriously, do they always complete each other's sentences? This is creepy,'_ thought Ash.

"Since you know who we are, you know what we can do." This was the woman.

"Give us all your pokemon, and we won't hurt you." Again, the man finished the statement. _'Creepy. Wait, what did he just say?'_ thought Ash. _'He did not just say that he wants me to give them my pokemon!'_ there were generally very few things that pissed Ash off. Pokemon thieves was one of them.

"Like hell I'll give you my pokemon! Go fuck yourselves!" Ash shouted indignantly.

"We can do this the easy way," started the woman.

"Or we can do this the hard way," finished the man. _'Seriously, what is with the twin speak. It is starting to get annoying!'_

Both members of Team Rocket released their pokemon as they finished their last statement. The woman released a purple, serpentine pokemon with a large mouth. The other pokemon released was spherical, with vacant eyes. This pokemon also had a large mouth and had several crater-like protrusions that were releasing a yellowish gas.

Ekans and Koffing, two poison-type pokemon native to Kanto.

"Pikachu, you up for it?" he asked his starter. In response, Pikachu got into a fighting stance, his cheeks sparking. Ash palmed another pokeball and pressed the release button, sending out Eevee.

" **Vee?** " asked a curious Eevee on seeing Pikachu already in a battle stance.

"This is Team Rocket, Eevee. You remember me telling you about them?" asked Ash. He had spent some time explaining to each of his pokemon about Team Rocket and the dangers they pose, not only to humans but to pokemon as well. All his pokemon were justifiably horrified and angry when Ash told them some of the things Team Rocket was said to have done to the pokemon they had kidnapped.

On seeing Eevee's expression change from curious to ferocious, Ash continued. "They want to steal you guys from me. This is one battle that we cannot afford to lose. Eevee, Pikachu, go all out. Destroy them." Ash exclaimed angrily.

"Look at that," the woman laughed.

"The brat thinks that he can defeat us."

"Let's show him how wrong he is!" The Meowth finished.

Ash, Pikachu, and Eevee blinked in surprise. A talking pokemon? The hell? They were brought out of their shock by the duo giving commands to their pokemon.

"Ekans, use Poison Sting on that Eevee."

"Koffing, use Smog on that Pikachu."

"Quick Tail," Ash calmly countered.

Both Pikachu and Eevee shot forward in streaks of light, easily dodging the attacks sent at them. Their tails glowed silver as they slammed into the poison-type pokemon, sending them careening back in pain.

"What the hell? Ekans! Shake it off, and use Bite," shouted the enraged woman.

"This brat may have some talent. Better for us when we steal his pokemon though! Koffing, use Tackle!"

Again, their attacks failed and the result was the same as the last time as both poison-type pokemon were batted aside by twin glowing tails. Meowth took out his claws and pointed them at Ash's pokemon, and said, "If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself!" with that, he charged at Pikachu at an extremely slow pace.

"Let's finish this. Eevee, use Helping Hand on Pikachu. Pikachu, take the boost and shock them!" A multi-coloured energy came out of Eevee and went into Pikachu, who shouted his name and send out three bolts of electricity at each of the opposing pokemon who shouted in pain before falling unconscious.

"What the hell?" shouted the woman.

"This brat is too powerful!" exclaimed the man.

"We need to get out of here!" They finished in sync.

"Where do you guys think you are going?" Asked an angry Ash. "You think you can come here, threaten to steal my pokemon, and just leave? You must be out of your mind! Pikachu, paralyze them!"

A thin stream of electrical energy went from Pikachu and struck the two humans, who immediately collapsed. They twitched as electricity coursed through their bodies. While Ash was normally against having pokemon attack humans, once you threatened his pokemon, all bets are off. Ash called out Flabebe and had her use Vine Whip to tie up the Team Rocket members. He also took their pokeballs and put them in his bag, not willing to take any chances.

Once he was sure that the Team Rocket members were secure, he found an alcove to hide in. When he was sure that he was relatively safe and his pokemon would alert him to any incoming threats, he took out his PokeNav and looked up a number and clicked on the video call feature. He took a moment to thank Mew that there was enough network deep inside the tunnel to make a call as the call was answered and a holographic screen popped up in front of Ash, showing the smiling visage of the person Ash had worked so hard to defeat ten days ago.

"Hey, Ash. I didn't expect you to call so soon," Brock started cheerfully. He was about to continue in a similar vein when he saw Ash's unusually serious expression. "What happened? I can tell from your expression that something is wrong."

"Sorry to disturb you, Brock. I didn't know who else to call though. I came across a situation here, and I do not know what to do."

"What is it? Tell me." Brock's face was as stern and hard as the pokemon he specializes in. Ash nodded in reassurance and started telling him everything he had seen since entering the cave from the lack of wild pokemon to the battle against the Team Rocket members.

"I'm afraid that the disappearance of the wild pokemon is related to the presence of Team Rocket here. And the two members I faced are amongst the lower barrel of grunts as they are hardly worth talking about. I know all this is conjecture on my part, but if it is even remotely true, then..."

"Don't worry, Ash." Brock reassured him. "You've done the right thing. Go back to the pokemon centre and leave this to me. I'll speak to Lance and we will decide our move. But we'll be there in half an hour at most, that I can assure you."

"I can't do that, Brock!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm going to check this out and try to help!"

"Don't be stupid, Ash!" Brock cut in once again, his face showing the disapproval his voice was not. "You have heard the stories of what Team Rocket can do, and these stories are just the milder ones released to the general public. You have no idea what they are capable of, this is way out of your league. Just go back, Ash."

"I can't! One of my closest friends left for Mt. Moon a few minutes before I did. I have to see what happened to him."

"Do not! Leave it to us. We will be reaching there soon. Let us do what we are known for. We will save him!"

"I can't wait that long." Ash shook his head. "Who knows what will happen to him in that time? My pokemon will protect me."

"Your pokemon are nowhere strong enough to do this, Ash." Brock warned him. "They'll be slaughtered."

"They won't. I'm confident in them. And even if they do, I can distract them long enough for you guys to show up."

" **Pika, Pika,** " shouted Pikachu as he got Ash's attention. He pointed at the end of the tunnel where voices could be heard from.

"I've got to go, Brock. Someone is coming."

"Wait, Ash." Brock tried to reason with Ash some more, but Ash had already cut the call. Brock cursed and immediately called Lance to inform him of what was going on in Mt. Moon.

Meanwhile, Ash had shut his PokeNav, fearing that Brock's voice would alert the incoming people to Ash's presence. Ash's pokemon huddled together near Ash to avoid detection. Their paranoia payed off as another member from Team Rocket came strolling in.

"Where have those two idiots run off to? I swear, if they're doing something stupid, I will personally whip their asses." He muttered as he passed by the area where Ash and his pokemon stood, huddled together. The Team Rocket member continued to mutter expletives under his breath as he voiced out what he would do to _'those idiots.'_ Ash breathed a sigh of relief as the Team Rocket member disappeared from view.

He sat down, trying to think of a plan. While he may have told Brock that he is confident in his pokemon, he was not stupid enough to charge in blindly. He needed information, not only for himself, but to pass onto Brock when he came here with reinforcements. An idea came to his mind and even he acknowledged that it is extremely dangerous. He turned to Flabebe and said, "Flabebe. I have an idea, but it is extremely dangerous. Tell me if you think you can't do it, no one will think less of you if you." He tried to reassure the fairy.

" **Bebe!** " she replied, wanting to go through with Ash's plan. All his pokemon knew off Team Rocket and shared the hatred for the criminal organization. Ash, because of his love for pokemon. The very thought of what Team Rocket did to pokemon made his heart pound and grit his teeth in anger. As for his pokemon, Ash told them about what the organization did to kidnapped pokemon. Their hearts went out for the pokemon and a hatred grew in them because of the atrocities committed on their kin. So, Flabebe wanted to do her part in foiling one of their plans.

"Alright, here it is. You can say no if you want to," Ash stressed again. He really was not confident in his plan. "When the Team Rocket member returns after not finding these two," here, Ash pointed at the two people he had beaten some time back, "I want you to leave your flower and hide on that person's body. Go to their base and find out what is going on. Can you do that?"

" **Fla! Flabebe!** " she nodded uncertainly. Flabebe are very attached to their flower and are very reluctant to leave it. But she could understand Ash's point. Going with the flower would make it difficult for her to be inconspicuous.

Before Ash could once again tell her that she can say no to the plan, they heard the same Team Rocket member coming back, his mood worse than what it was when he left. Before he could leave, Flabebe floated over to the Rocket's cap and steeled down behind it. The Rocket continued on to his base, none the wiser.

As soon as they left, Ash started pacing. In hindsight, it was a stupid idea. Why didn't he listen to Brock when he told Ash to wait? Oh, yeah. Because Jonathan had left for Mt. Moon before Ash and he might be in danger. Ash felt like cursing his childhood friend. If only he waited for a few more minutes, the two of them could have left together. Then Ash would not be in this mess. Ash continued pacing for another fifteen minutes as Pikachu and Eevee curled around him, hoping to give him some comfort.

It was then that Pikachu's and Eevee's ears perked up and they immediately pointed to the end of the pathway where they could see Flabebe floating towards them. Ash almost ran out to greet her, but sense prevailed, and he waited for Flabebe to reach them. Once close by, Ash immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Thank Arceus that you are alright, Flabebe! I was so worried."

" **Bebe!** " she exclaimed as she went back to her flower and sighed in relief. She then produced a vine and started making some patterns on the floor.

"Oh!" exclaimed Ash as he suddenly remembered what he had sent Flabebe to do. Stupid worry, making him forget stuff. "What did you find Flabebe? Did you see how many trainers are captured by Team Rocket?"

Flabebe drew a straight line with her vine.

"One?" Ash asked.

" **Fla!** " Flabebe exclaimed as she then drew tow circles, one below the other.

"Eight?" Ash asked, now confused.

" **Fla! Flabebe!** " Flabebe exclaimed, sounding pleased with herself.

"So are there one or eight?" Ash inquired. When Flabebe shook her head, Ash's confusion grew. "Wait, there eighteen trainers captured, aren't there?" Ash suddenly understood what the fairy was trying to explain.

" **Flabebe!** " She exclaimed, again sounding pleased with herself.

"Okay, how many members of Team Rocket did you see?"

Flabebe mimed drawing two half circles, again, one below the other.

"Three?" Ash confirmed.

Flabebe nodded and then drew an oval with her vine.

"Zero?" Again, Ash confirmed.

On Flabebe's cheerful nod, Ash asked the answer with some trepidation. "Are there thirty members of Team Rocket there?" when Flabebe nodded again, Ash bit out a curse. There were a lot more members than what he was expecting.

"What about the trainer's pokemon? And idea where they are kept?"

" **Flaa** ," Flabebe shook her head, dejected. Ash just petted her on her head a couple of times and told her that it was ok, she had already done a good job.

"What about the wild pokemon?"

Here, Flabebe mimed drawing a rectangle, and then drew a couple of vertical lines in the middle of the rectangle. She repeated this for a few seconds as Ash thought on what it could be.

"A cage?" he asked tentatively.

" **Flaa** ," Flabebe once again hummed happily as her trainer understood what she was trying to say. Ash took this all in before making a plan. He first switched on his PokeNav and saw some missed calls and messages from Brock. He ignored them and sent a message with the details Flabebe found out to Brock and turned it off again. He then called out Dratini and gathered his pokemon together and explained to them the plan.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

John and Leroy were bored. They had gotten the shorter end of the straw and were stuck with guard duty. Guard duty in a tunnel barely wide enough for three people to walk comfortably. And one where it was too dark to see more than ten feet. A job they had been doing for the past hour. Needless to say, they were bored. So they passed the time talking about what pokemon they wanted rather than doing their job, which was to provide a look out.

"I can't wait to break in a Geodude!" John was telling his partner. "Once I have him for long enough, he will evolve into a powerful Golem and help me advance to the level of an Executive!"

"Not if I get there before you," Leroy taunted him. "I want a Nidoran and then I'll evolve him into a Nidoking. And my Nidoking will kick your Golem's ass."

"Haa, you wish! Your Nidoking will not even be able to put a scratch on my Golem. He will use his Roll Out and flatten your Nidoking to a pulp!"

"Oh, yeah! Well, my Nidoking will…"

Their ground breaking and important conversation was halted when they spotted a Pikachu between them. The three looked at each other for a few seconds, the two humans staring in shock. They were broken out of their reverie by a cheerful " **Pika** " from the Pikachu as a wave of electricity hit their bodies, freezing them completely. They could not move as a young, teenage boy came and pettted the Pikachu's head. They could not move as the teenager took their pokeballs and put them in a bag. They could not move when a weird, tiny ball of light on a white-coloured flower used Vines and tied them up. And they could not move when the trainer withdrew both his pokemon and waltzed past them into the very chamber they were supposed to be guarding.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash crept into the chamber where Team Rocket were conducting their operation. Team Rocket members were spread around, ambling around the place as if they owned it. Ash felt a spike of rage as he saw some of them abusing the wild pokemon in the cage. He forced his irritation down and turned to the captured trainers bound together in front of him. Ahead of them, he could see a few more members of Team Rocket around a giant drill, being directed by a man whose white uniform made him stand out from the rest of the people dressed in black. Even if it was not for the different uniform, his green hair would definitely make him stand out.

Ash searched around for Jonathan and found him conversing with a purple-haired woman wearing all black. He crept up to them and got Jonathan's attention.

"Ash!" he exclaimed in surprise. "They got you too, huh?"

"Not really. The ones I came across were pathetic to the core. I came to see you. I was worried." 

"I'm fine, physically. Bastards stole my pokemon though."

"Any idea where they are? I can get them and we all can fight back."

"That's one suggestion I'm up for!" Cut in the woman who Jonathan was speaking with. "Name's Janine." She introduced herself to Ash, holding out her hand to shake.

"Ash Ketchum, it's nice to meet you," Ash politely shook her hand. "So, any idea where your pokemon are?"

"You see that tent over there?" Jonathan asked, pointing to a tent between where the captured trainers and the apparent leader stood. "They're all over there."

"We were going to go," said Janine. "But the Rockets will see us and we have no means of protecting ourselves against their pokemon."

"I can solve that problem," Ash smirked. The other two smirked as well. They quickly spread the knowledge of the plan to all the trainers who were held against their will with their pokemon captured. They all got ready as Ash, Jonathan and Janine ran towards the tent, throwing away all caution to the wind. Team Rocket would know that they going to fight back in seconds, anyway.

Their run went unnoticed for the first few seconds, as none of the Team Rocket members were paying attention to them, thinking that the trainers must be too terrified of Team Rocket to do anything. By the time one of them saw what was going on, processed the information (no one ever said that the Team Rocket grunts were the brightest tool in the box) and shouted out loud to warn the rest of his teammates, it was too late. Janine and Jonathan took their pokemon and started distributing the rest to their new comrades.

The green-haired man looked at all this amused, not a hint of worry on his face. "Look what we have here. A brat trying to ruin our plans. What to do, what to do? Should I let you go? A reward for your efforts? Yeah, let's do that! Go on." He made a shooing gesture. Everyone looked at him in shock for a few seconds, no one moving. "Well? Go on. Why won't you leave? We won't do anything to you guys if you go."

A couple of trainers started walking towards the exit and still no response came from him. Seeing that, other trainers started leaving as well. However, before anyone could leave the cavern, the leader spoke again.

"HAAA! Just kidding. Did you really think that I would let you guys just go? Nah! Of course not! Time for introductions, isn't it? My name is Executive Archer and I will be your host for today. I can promise you entertainment, blood flying around, lives being lost. Sounds like fun, right?" He asked cheerfully as everyone stared at him in shock and fear. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked his underlings. "Destroy them." He finished with a large smile, his eyes closed in his cheerfulness.

The cavern was then filled by the lights and sounds of pokemon being released by the Team Rocket members as the trainers were too shocked from the speech given by the Executive to react. The sheer insanity rolling off of him was ridiculous.

Janine was the first to break out of her shock, as she shouted. "Don't just stand there gawking. Fight back!"

The trainers let out a war-cry and released their own pokemon to fight back. The next few seconds passed in complete disarray as pokemon were fighting each other everywhere. Ash had an extremely difficult time keeping a lookout for his pokemon as they fought the horde of Team Rocket pokemon. he had already told his pokemon that he would not be able to direct them for this battle, something that he had been training his pokemon to do since the battle against Brock. This would be the ultimate test of the ability of his pokemon.

He saw Pikachu hit an Arbok with a massive bolt of electricity that caused it to faint immediately, something that surprised Ash since his pokemon are nowhere close to beating pokemon of that calibre. Yet. He smiled as he saw Flabebe and Eevee work in tandem to defeat a Graveller as Flabebe wrapped it up in her vines and Eevee darted around slamming it with Iron Tail. Ash shouted out a warning that he knew was too late as a Golbat swooped in to attack Flabebe, but he need not have worried as the Golbat was smashed into the wall by a bluish ball filled with draconic energy as Dratini glared at it angrily.

Ash sighed in relief as his pokemon stuck together, covering each other's backs. Ash saw Flabebe hurl an entangled Golem into the path of Dratini who caught the Megaton pokemon in a massive whirlwind of draconic energy that severely damaged it. A double Iron Tail from Pikachu and Eevee took care of it as it fell down with swirls in its eyes.

But the tides quickly turned against them. While Ash had prepared his pokemon for this battle, the other trainers had not. They were being pushed back, the quantity of the team Rocket pokemon overwhelming the trainer's pokemon. They needed to do something, and they needed to do it fast. Otherwise, this battle is lost to them.

It seemed like Janine had come to the same conclusion as she came close to Ash to say something. "We need to do something. We're getting overwhelmed."

"I know. Do you have any ideas?"

"What about the wild pokemon? They can turn the tides in our favour."

"Do you think that they'll help us? They could just run to safety."

"They won't." Janine's grim statement sent a chill down Ash's spine. Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the rest of her statement. She continued regardless of Ash's sudden inner turmoil. "You didn't see the things the Team Rocket members were doing to the pokemon, Ash. They will fight back. They'll want revenge."

Ash turned to Janine to ask the obvious question, but her expression said later. Ash nodded and asked, "So how will we get the wild pokemon free?"

"I'll clear a path. Your pokemon can break the cage." Ash nodded in agreement, as Janine shouted out to her pokemon. "Nidoking, clear a path to the wild pokemon! Don't hold back."

Nidoking bellowed as he ran towards the cage. Any pokemon in his path were sent flying back with impunity. A Kangaskhan stood in front of the Nidoking to stop his rampage, but it was suddenly unable to move as a thin stream of electricity coursed through its body originating from Dratini. A massive punch from the Nidoking sent the Kangaskhan flying back, leaving the path to the cage free.

"Flabebe, Razor Leaf at the cage! Pikachu, Eevee, smash it aside with Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. His pokemon shouted their names as razor sharp leaves originated from Flabebe's flower and started cutting the bars of the cage. Pikachu and Eevee the used Quick Attack to get to the cage quickly and smashed their tails at the exact spots where Flabebe had cut the bars using her leaves. The bars quickly broke and the now freed pokemon let out a roar as they charged at the Team Rocket pokemon.

As the tide of battle changed one more time, Archer took part in the melee for the first time since his speech.

"Oh, you should not have done that. I'm really starting to get annoyed at you, brat. First, you free these prisoners, then you free the wild pokemon to battle against my comrades. It seems like I'll have to handle you on my own. My, what a pleasure. Your screams will be delightful to hear."

With that said, he took out three pokeballs and tossed them into the air. Out of the first pokeball came a massive Houndoom, out of the second came a Victreebel, and out of the last one came an Electabuzz. Ash gulped at the powerful pokemon in front of him. He knew that his pokemon had no chance against them. Before he could say anything, Jonathan and Janine joined him in facing against the Executive.

"We'll each take one opponent," said Janine.

"I'll take the Victreebel," said Jonathan. "My pokemon are best suited to fighting against it."

"Done. I'll take the Houndoom," answered Janine.

"Which leaves me with the Electabuzz," finished Ash.

The trainers called their pokemon to them to fight the monster pokemon of the Executive. They split up so as to not distract each other in the upcoming fight. They knew that any distraction would be costly.

"Pikachu, I want you to take all the electric attacks the Electabuzz shoots at us. Eevee, keep using Helping Hand to assist your teammates. Dratini, Flabebe, you know what to do."

His pokemon nodded as Flabebe sent a blast of wind at the humanoid pokemon. The Electabuzz took the attack on without flinching. In fact, it looked like the attack did no damage from that attack. The Electabuzz grinned as electricity charged between its antennae and an absolutely massive bolt of electricity raced at Flabebe. Pikachu disappeared in a flash of yellow as he reappeared in front of the attack and absorbed the electricity due to his Lightning Rod ability.

Eevee, meanwhile, had sent a stream of multi-coloured energy into Dratini, who used the boost to shoot a highly compressed ball of draconic energy right at the Electabuzz who took the attack once again. The only difference is that this time, it roared in pain as it was pushed back a few feet. In return, the Electabuzz angrily whirled its arms and a bigger bolt of electricity originated from its antennae and rushed towards the dragon-type pokemon. Once again, Pikachu absorbed the attack.

Multiple leaves hit the Electabuzz next, leaving small cuts all over its body. It was not given a moment's rest as it was caught in a massive hurricane sent by Dratini. The Twister did more than just cause damage as the Electabuzz suddenly flinched and its limbs seized up. Ash took notice of that immediately and shouted, "Quick, this is our chance. The Electabuzz is unable to move. Hit it with your most powerful attacks!"

The Electabuzz was blasted back by a blast of silver-coloured wind from Flabebe. Hardly a second later, Pikachu and Eevee hit it with a twin Iron Tail attack that sent it a few more feet back. The combo ended with Dratini smashing another Dragon Rage into the staggering Electabuzz, causing a huge explosion.

Ash and his pokemon waited with baited breath for the smoke to clear up. They hoped the battle was over, but could not predict anything as they did not know how powerful the Electabuzz was. The suspense ended as the smoke was cleared revealing the Electabuzz down on one knee with bruises all over its body. The last combination had definitely damaged it, but Ash knew that it had a lot more fight left in it.

" **Electa….Buzz. Electaaa! Buzzz!** " it shouted out loud in anger as its body started glowing yellow with a massive amount of electricity being generated. The electricity was so much that the hair on Ash's body stood up from the static and he was quite a few feet away from the pokemon.

"Watch out, guys!" Ash shouted. "Take cover!"

That command was easier said than done as an absolutely monstrous bolt of electricity left Electabuzz's body and made its way towards Ash's pokemon. The bolt was reminiscent of an actual bolt from the sky during a storm as it was easily six feet wide and concentrated into a height of four feet as it rushed towards Ash's pokemon at a speed not seen before by Ash. Before anyone could react, Pikachu intercepted the bolt with his body as he tried to absorb the Thunder attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as his starter cried out. He could barely watch as the bolt became smaller and smaller as Pikachu was successful in neutralizing it. Pikachu fell down to the ground in exhaustion, his body sparking due to an overload of electricity. Seeing this, his remaining pokemon redoubled their efforts in attacking the ridiculously powerful electric pokemon, pushing it back slightly.

Ash was about to recall Pikachu when he started to get up. Pikachu called out his name as he charged electricity in his body. A few seconds later, he released the biggest electric attack that Ash had seen from him. He was covered in a circle of electric energy as four massive bolts of electricity originated from the circle and arced towards the Electabuzz. The resultant explosion was even larger than what it was the last time and Ash swore he saw the Electabuzz being sent flying backwards due to the attack.

As smoke filled the room, Ash spoke in awe. "Woah, what was that? Even his Thundershock, when powered by Eevee's Helping Hand, is not this powerful." He was distracted from his thought process by a beeping sound. He looked around wondering what that was before realizing that it was coming from his pokedex. He opened it and the monotonous voice from the pokedex sounded.

 **Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pichu. It has small electric sacs on both its cheeks. If threatened, it looses electric charges from the sacs. This Pikachu is male and has the ability static. NOTE: His hidden ability lightning rod has been unlocked. Due to the constant charging of its electric sacs, this Pikachu has just learned the move Thunderbolt.**

"….." Ash stared at his pokedex in shock. Thunderbolt? Really? One of the most powerful electric attacks that a pokemon can learn? One which Ash didn't expect Pikachu to learn for a few more months, at the very least, due to a lack of power? It seems like battling this powerful Electabuzz had one advantage which Ash never counted on.

Ash looked at his starter in awe. He really was the best starter that any pokemon trainer can get. Every day, he does something to make sure that Ash never regrets not getting one of the traditional Kanto starters. But this? Ash shook himself out of his awe as he saw the condition of his pokemon. While none of them were injured too badly, they were all exhausted. And it was to be expected. They were all young pokemon, not used to battling so heavily. The constant battles with the Team Rocket pokemon, followed by the battle against this monster was taking its toll on them. He hoped that the Thunderbolt was enough to take out the Electabuzz, his pokemon could not battle much longer.

He heard a cry of pain and looked in horror as his Flabebe was sent crashing down in pain. She lay down there unmoving and her body twitched as her skin turned slightly purple. Poison. Before anyone could react, a blur snatched Eevee and she too let out a scream of pain as she was beaten into unconsciousness. Pikachu and Dratini tried hitting the blur but it was too fast for them to attack. Things got worse as the Electabuzz stood up, glaring at Ash and his pokemon with hatred. It opened its mouth as it charged a beam which was orange in colour.

"Get out of there!" Ash shouted in panic as he recognized the Hyper Beam. But the beam was too quick and left Pikachu with no time to react as he was blown away by one of the most devastating attacks known to pokemon.

Dratini took advantage of the recharging time caused by the Hyper Beam attack as he sent another Dragon Rage at the electric pokemon. The attack, fuelled by his anger at the defeat of his teammates, was more powerful than any that Ash had seen as Electabuzz was sent flying away one more time.

Ash was distracted by a shout of "No, Pidgeotto!" as he turned to see Jonathan's bird pokemon was beaten the same blur that took out two of Ash's pokemon. He looked on in horror as the blur went on to smash Janine's Nidoking as well, the distraction allowing the beaten up Houndoom to slash at him with claws covered in black energy. The Nidoking roared in pain as three bloody gashes appeared on his side.

"Nidoking!" Janine shouted in anguish as she looked up at the smug face of the Team Rocket Executive.

"Did you honestly think that I have only three pokemon?" He asked. "Your efforts are amusing. Particularly you, brat." He pointed at Ash. "You even managed to defeat one of my pokemon. And you," he switched to Janine, "managed to last this long against one of my stronger pokemon, that too with me directing him. But this is getting boring now and it is time to end this charade. Victreebel, Hyper Beam. Crobat, get rid of these trainers. They're annoying."

The Victreebel that Jonathan was facing charged an orangish beam that it then sent flying. It blasted past Jonathan's Nidoran and Charmeleon (his Charmander must have evolved, Ash mused) and went towards Dratini who barely dodged the attack by a hair's breath. Any further thoughts were put to a stop as Ash screamed out in pain when he felt the Crobat bite into his skin. Looking around, Ash saw the Crobat darting around attacking other trainers as well. He was forced to turn again as his vision swam and his body gave way. He saw the Houndoom charge a Hyper Beam as well. The last thing that Ash remembered before unconsciousness took hold of him was a male voice shouting angrily, "Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash groggily woke up to see that he was lying down on a bed. It looked like he was in a hospital room as he surveyed his surroundings. An IV was hooked onto his arm and some fluid was being put inside his body through it. He saw that the area around his neck was bandaged, causing him to frown.

' _What happened here?'_ he wondered. The last thing he remembered was….

He shot up and immediately regretted it as pain shot through his body. He shook off his pain as he looked towards his belt where his pokeballs should be. He started panicking when he saw them missing.

' _Where are my pokemon? Do Team Rocket have them? Are they hurt? Last I remember, that Crobat had taken out Flabebe and Eevee. Pikachu took on a full powered Hyper Beam as well.'_ Ash grimaced at the reminder of the Crobat who had so viciously bitten him. It had then gone on to attack other trainers as well. He hoped that Brock had arrived on time to save him and the other trainers.

' _He must have,'_ he mused. _'I'm still alive and in this hospital room. I just hope he got there in time to save the pokemon as well. Arceus knows that Flabebe would need healing as well. The poison must have seriously messed up her body.'_

He looked around the room and saw a glass of water on the bedside table. He immediately took it to satisfy his parched throat and started downing it. He stopped on his second sip as a wave of nausea hit him. Once that feeling went, he took small sips of water till the glass was empty.

Deciding that he'll only get answers once he leaves the room, and worried sick about his pokemon, Ash swung his legs off the bed. He tried to stand but immediately started swaying and almost fell back onto the bed. Just how badly was he injured? Once he was able to stand on his feet steadily, which itself took him almost fifteen minutes, he wondered what to do about the IV.

Before he could make a decision, the door to his room opened, and in walked Nurse Joy. She let out a gasp as she saw Ash awake and standing, before she rushed towards him to do a check-up.

"Nurse Joy!" Ash exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing standing up? Get back to bed, now Mr. Ketchum." The nurse spoke in her usual sweet voice.

"I have to find out what happened to my pokemon!" Ash tried to argue.

The temperature of the room started to drop as a result of that statement as Nurse Joy gave Ash a sweet smile. A smile that would have sent Ash running away as fast as he could in the opposite direction had he been fit enough to do so. "Are you disobeying my order?" that smile still on her face.

"My pokemon," Ash tried to say, his worry for his pokemon overriding his sense of fear from the woman.

"Bed! Now!" She said.

Ash would have beaten that Crobat in speed as he dove back under the covers as fast as he could. Nurse Joy was terrifying him more than that Team Rocket Executive, and that guy was absolutely insane!

"There. Was that so hard now?" She asked, back to her sweet and kind persona. She started doing Ash's check-up, taking his temperature, his blood pressure and a couple of tests with some machines whose function Ash had no idea of. She finished with unwrapping Ash's bandages to check the wound that Crobat had given him. She tsked and went to the drawer to take out a bottle. She turned back to Ash, and started speaking.

"Most of the poison from your body has been removed by the antidote that I have been giving you through the IV. This," she pointed to the medicine in her hand, "is a potion of sorts that can work on humans. Fair warning, it will burn. A lot." With that said, she applied the potion on Ash's wound.

Ash screamed out in pain as the wound sizzled and burned. The pain was intense and continued for a few minutes as Ash rolled about trying to find some release from the pain. Finally, just as Ash was on the brink of losing consciousness again, the pain lessened and finally settled at a constant, dull throbbing. He looked at the wound to see that the area was red and that the wound had closed to form a scar on his body.

"The pain will remain for a few hours. It should be gone by the time you leave here. The scar will remain with you for life, though. There's nothing that I can do for that," she said, her voice sympathetic. She sounded genuinely sorry for the pain that Ash was going through.

Ash smiled at her, and said, "It's fine, Nurse Joy. I don't mind the scar. Thank you very much for saving my life. I doubt I would have survived had it not been for you." Ash bowed his head in respect to the pink-haired woman whose entire family was dedicated to the art of healing.

"Oh hush, you." Nurse Joy scolded gently. "There's no need to say that. I was just doing my job."

"Nonetheless, you saved my life. If there is anything that I can do for you, let me know." Ash was adamant about this. He owed the nurse more than he could imagine. He owed her his very life. If there was anything she needed, Ash would make sure he would do his best to get it done. He owed her that much.

"The sentiment is appreciated, Mr. Ketchum, but unnecessary. Now, I have other patients to see." Saying that, she turned around to leave.

"Wait, Nurse Joy!" Ash said. "What other patients? Is anyone…" Ash could not complete that statement.

"No one is dead, Mr. Ketchum," she smiled. "Some are injured, but they all should make a full recovery."

"Thank Mew," Ash sighed in relief. "And what about my pokemon?" he asked tentatively.

"No permanent injuries to them, either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get going. Also, are you up for visitors? Someone wants to meet you." she asked.

"Yeah, sure." He replied in a daze, not really caring about anything other than the fact that his pokemon were fine.

Nurse Joy left the room leaving Ash alone for a few minutes. Ash spent the time reliving the battle, and cursing his stupidity. He really should have listened to Brock. The whole time, _Archer_ was toying with them. As soon as he got serious, the battle was over in minutes. And his pokemon had been gravely injured as well. Ash grimaced at that, guilt gnawing through his body. His pokemon, his precious family, injured because of his recklessness. He had charged through blindly, believing that he could beat Team Rocket just because he had taken care of a couple of grunts with ease. Such arrogance, he thought in disgust. And he used to mock Gary for his arrogance. At least, he never got his pokemon inured by his cockiness. Before Ash's thoughts could go on a further spiral, the door to his room was opened and in walked three people.

The first two were recognizable to him as he had met them. The first was Brock, his normally cheerful face solemn. The second was Janine, a similar expression on her face.

The last was also recognizable to Ash, not because he had met him before, but because of who he was. After all, which trainer worth his salt could not recognize him? The first thing one noticed was how massive the figure was. Not only tall, but he had muscles to balance it out. His hair was next, as he saw that the man had light red hair, almost pink in colour. Then came his clothes. He wore combat boots and a he wore a blue suit that had patches of crimson on his chest and stomach area. And of course, the cape. Who would not see the cape? Black on the outside and crimson on the inside. The Champion of the Kanto and the Johto regions. Lance.

"Hello there," he spoke cheerily. His voice was authoritative, and Ash immediately recognized the voice as the last thing he heard before he fell unconscious back in the cavern. "How are you feeling now?"

"Sore," Ash replied truthfully. He turned to Janine, and asked, "What about you? Did the Crobat get you as well?"

"No," she shook her head. "Thankfully, Lance and Brock had arrived with reinforcements by then."

Ash noticed how Janine referred to Lance so informally, but didn't comment on it. There were more important things on his mind at the moment.

"Do any of you know how long it has been since the battle?" he asked.

"A day," came the swift reply from Brock. "We were getting worried."

Ash hung his head at that. "Brock, I…"

"There's no need for that, Ash. You've learnt your lesson by now. I'm sure of that," Brock replied.

"Enough of that," interjected Lance. "Mr. Ketchum, on behalf of the League, I want to thank you for informing us on Team Rocket's activities. Because of your help, we have dealt a major blow to their organization. Not only have we stopped their plans, we've also finally managed to capture a high ranking member from their organization."

"I didn't do anything," Ash muttered in embarrassment. Come on, what was he supposed to do when his idol was praising him?

"On the contrary, you did a lot. With Archer captured, we can get information on the organization from him. This is a big blow to their organization, and our biggest victory over them, so far." Lance stepped forward and ruffled Ash's head proudly as Ash stuttered and blushed.

He fought to regain his composure, and once done, he asked. "So, what were Team Rocket doing in Mt. Moon?"

"Ash," Brock interjected with a warning tone. "Haven't you learned your lesson? Leave Team Rocket and what they do alone."

"It's alright, Brock." Lance said. "He deserves to know what he and his team almost died for. They were looking for fossils. And found quite a few of them too. What for, I don't know."

Ash flinched at the reminder of the near death of his pokemon. He looked at Janine once Lance was done talking and asked her, "My pokemon… do you have any idea what happened to them?"

She grimaced and nodded. "Dratini was mostly fine. Eevee was knocked unconscious, she healed soon as well. Pikachu and Flabebe, on the other hand, were pretty messed up."

Ash looked down, guilt filling his body once again. "How are they now?"

"They're fine. They're resting at the moment. Nurse Joy said that they should be fine by the time you guys leave the Centre."

"Thank Arceus," Ash sighed in relief. It wasn't as bad as Ash feared, particularly for Pikachu and Flabebe. He really feared the worst for them.

"So, you've caught a Dratini, huh? A mighty fine choice!" Lance said. "They don't just follow any trainer, so you must have something special in you. Tell you what, get a little stronger, win a few more badges. Tell me when your Dratini has evolved into a Dragonair and is showing signs of evolving into a Dragonite. I'll help you train it."

"Are you serious?" Ash blurted out in shock. "Why would you help me?"

Lance just laughed, and said, "I love the Dragonite family. And as I said, if any Dratini thinks that you are worthy of training under, you are alright in my book. All I'll be doing is guide you to make your Dratini the strongest it can be. Consider it a reward for what you helped us accomplish yesterday."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Ash said eagerly.

"Think nothing of it," Lance laughed again. "Speaking of rewards, I have more to give you." 

"Uhh, there is no need for that," Ash mumbled out, once again blushing.

"Of course there is! I was going to give you a bigger reward but someone," here he sent Brock a nasty look, "told me that such behaviour should not be encouraged. So, you will have to make do with this." He took out a rectangle-shaped box wrapped in brown paper. Ash took it with unsteady hands, and looked at Lance to thank him. Before he could say anything, the champion continued, "Well! What are you waiting for? Open it!"

Ash smiled sheepishly as he followed the champion's orders tearing the wrapping paper apart. He opened the lid of the box and gasped in surprise. Inside the box were ten pokeballs, but they were not standard pokeballs. Five of them had the upper half coloured blue with two red-coloured patches in between. The remaining five had an upper half which was black with a U-shaped patch in between which was coloured gold. Great balls and Ultra balls. Surprising, since Ultra balls were not available to trainers. They were only available to the League.

"This is…" Ash was speechless. He looked at Lance to thank him properly but was stopped short by the man ruffling his hair once again.

"You'll be needing stronger pokemon soon enough. These will help you catch them. Make good use of them, will you? Now, we should be going, or Nurse Joy will personally come and kick us out. Get some rest, kid. And thank you for yesterday!"

Brock and Janine gave their own goodbyes as they left Ash to rest. Ash took the Great balls and Ultra balls and put them in his bag as he kept the empty box on his bedside table. He didn't want people coming and stealing the gift now, did he? As he was putting the balls in his bag, he remembered the pokeballs he had taken from the Team Rocket members that he had defeated. He searched his bag to find them, but was unable to.

' _They must have taken them already and put them in the rehabilitation facility,'_ Ash thought. He had told Brock where he kept them, after all. He started feeling drowsy and realised that he had not fully recovered from his wounds yet. The conversation with Lance had drained him and any further thoughts on the consequences of his battle were to be done later. At the end of the day, no one was too badly injured. They would recover from this, better than ever before, he mused as his head hit the pillow and sleep overcame him once again.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash had gotten a clean bill of health from Nurse Joy. His wound had healed, he just needed to recover some strength. Nurse Joy had given him strict instructions to take it easy for the next few days and then returned his pokemon. Ash had immediately left the Centre to meet his pokemon for the first time since the battle.

On stepping out of the Centre, he realized that the League had taken him to the Pokemon Centre at the base of Mt. Moon since it was the closest. The last couple of days had not been pleasant for Ash. The tongue lashing his mother had given him when he told her what had happened and why he had not called her for two days had been legendary. And it had hurt Ash to see his mother so upset knowing that the cause of her sadness was something he did. Professor Oak was not gentle in his reprimands either as he called him up to tell him the status of both Jonathan and him.

Speaking of Jonathan, the boy was quite upset. Even the joy of his Charmander evolving could not detract from the fact that his pokemon were very badly injured. They would need a few more days to recover. Fortunately, there were no permanent injuries. Ash had tried to cheer him up, but nothing that Ash said did any good. And what could he say? He was struggling with the consequences of the battle himself.

He quickly made his way to Mt. Moon, but stopped before he entered it. He had some important stuff to do, a conversation that was long overdue. Making sure that he was alone for now, he sat down and released all his pokemon. Joy filled his body as he saw that none of his pokemon even had a scar from the battle. They all were looking at Ash with concerned looks, taking in his exhausted face and paler than normal skin.

He smiled trying to reassure them. It looked more like a grimace. "I…" he started but stopped as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I owe you guys an apology. I charged in recklessly against Team Rocket and as a result, you guys were injured really badly. One of you guys could have been injured for months, or worse. All because of me. I'm very sorry." His head was bowed in shame and pain, his guilt eating him up. So, he was unprepared to feel his pokemon dog-piling him. Dratini wrapped himself contently around his feet while Eevee curled herself in a ball in his lap. Flabebe hugged him around his middle as Pikachu settled for his spot on Ash's shoulders.

Feeling the love coming from his pokemon, Ash finally let it go. All the pain, the anger, the guilt, the fear of what could have been, everything was released as Ash started sobbing. They sat there for a while, trainer and pokemon content in basking in the love from each other.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Another consequence of the battle was that the intensity of the training sessions increased drastically. It seems like Dratini had shared what had happened to Ash with the rest of the pokemon, as he was the only one conscious at that time. Now that they know what it feels like to go up against a powerful pokemon, and the hopelessness that comes from knowing that they are not strong enough to protect Ash, they are determined to never feel that again.

Dratini had spent some time mastering Thundershock, but the majority of his time was spent trying to increase the power behind his moves. Now that Ash had seen how powerful a move Dragon Rage can be when he sent an overpowered one at the Electabuzz to knock it out, Ash wanted him to reach the same power levels normally and not in a fit of anger and desperation. And Dratini was slowly getting there as well, the power behind his moves was noticeably improving.

Pikachu had his hands full. He was close to learning Spark, which he spent time doing in the mornings. Evenings were spent on trying to master Thunderbolt. While he had released an extremely potent attack back in Mt. Moon, it was due to an abundance of electric energy coursing through his body as a result of the attacks that he absorbed. Now, when he had to power the move on his own, he was struggling. He could barely manage three Thunderbolts in a row before he was exhausted, and none of the three were even remotely close to the one he used in Mt. Moon in terms of power. But, at least there was progress. He had moved from two Thunderbolts to three over the last ten days. The power behind the move had also improved slightly.

Eevee was the one who had changed the most since the battle. When she had joined Ash's team, she was the strongest one in her pack, leading to her haughty nature. She had retained her arrogance for a while as she was better at battling than both Dratini and Flabebe. But, as the days progressed and turned to weeks, the gap between them decreased before it started increasing in the opposite direction. And all this lead to her having an identity crisis of sorts. The struggle while learning Shadow Ball was not helping either. She was losing confidence in herself and the few losses she was having had stamped out her arrogance.

But this battle had reinvigorated her. She knew that in the battle, she was just playing the supporting role. Because of her weakness, her trainer had been hurt. The trainer who she was slowly starting to love as family. So her drive had returned. She was no longer unmotivated as she was before. With her arrogance being checked, she started training harder than Ash had ever seen her before. She had finally returned to the fiery personality she had when she first joined Ash's team with the drive to become the strongest, and Ash could not be happier. With the increased effort and the gentle encouragement from Ash, she had made more progress in learning Shadow Ball in the last ten days than she did in all the days previously, combined. She could now gather the ghostly energy quickly and compress it into a ball and shoot it at a target. At the rate she was going, Ash assumed that she would have the move mastered in less than a week.

Flabebe had used the increased motivation to master Magical Leaf two days after the resumed their journey. Ash didn't really know what to teach her next since the more powerful attacks can be learnt by her only when she evolves. So he taught her Wish. Wish is a self-healing move like recover. Flabebe releases some chemicals in its body that trigger healing. The only drawback of the move is that it takes time for the chemicals to work, usually a few seconds. Flabebe had spent time trying to figure out the exact composition of chemicals, but she said that she was close to figuring it out. Ash didn't think that it will take long for her to get this move down.

But the biggest surprise had happened a few days ago. It was after a battle against a Hiker's Geodude who she had knocked out by using a powerful Magical Leaf attack. As Ash was about to return her to her pokeball to resume their journey, she had been enveloped in a bright white light. Her shape began to change as she doubled in height. Her ears had grown larger, and her tail had changed to the shape of a spade. She no longer rested on her flower, instead carrying it in her arms. She had finally evolved into a Floette.

Her evolution had been celebrated by Ash and the rest of his pokemon as she was the first amongst them to evolve. It was a major step for the team as one of their members had grown exponentially more powerful. And Ash had instructed her to spend the remaining time getting used to her power, even asking her to put a stop to learning new moves. It was a wise decision considering how much more power she had gotten just by evolving. Ash smirked as he thought of how much easier the second gym battle had become.

Speaking of the second gym battle, Ash was currently in the Cerulean Gym awaiting the Gym Leader. He had spent the last couple of hours watching an… _enticing_ show by the Sensational Sisters, the sisters of the Cerulean City Gym Leader, who was the youngest of the bunch, a girl a few years older than him named Misty.

The battlefield was a swimming pool which had decks floating on the water surface interspersed around the pool. Ash was standing in the challenger's box and a few seconds later, he saw a girl with orange hair enter the Leader's box. The referee stood at a podium, and started speaking.

"This is a Gym Battle between Misty Waterflower of the Cerulean City Gym and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. This will be a three-on-three battle and only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokemon. The trainers will now release their first pokemon."

"Go, Goldeen!" Misty exclaimed.

Goldeen is a white, fish-like pokemon with orange markings on its tail, back, and fins. On its forehead is a large horn.

"Dratini, let's do this." Ash chose Dratini as his first pokemon as of all his pokemon, he is the only one who can swim. Also, Ash wanted to keep Floette and Pikachu, who had more effective attacks, for Misty's stronger pokemon, like Starmie.

"A Dratini, huh? Interesting. It can swim in water and is resistant to water-type attacks. But don't assume that just because of the type advantage, you will win the match!" Misty exclaimed.

"I would never dream of it," Ash replied.

"Good," she smirked. "Challenger gets the first move."

"You will regret that," Ash warned. "Dratini, Twister!"

Instead of forming the twister in the air as he normally does, Dratini dove underwater and started forming it there. It was part of the plan that Ash had formed with Dratini before the start of the match. Ash had made the plan specifically with Goldeen in mind, knowing that the fish pokemon cannot survive outside water.

Ash smirked as he saw his plan come to fruition as Goldeen let out a yell as it futilely tried to swim away from the Twister. It got caught in the current and was sucked in. As soon as Dratini saw that Goldeen was caught in the created whirlpool, he started the second part of the plan. He increased the power of the Twister to launch the Goldeen high into the air. Once done, he stopped the Twister and swam up to meet the fish pokemon as it came down. His tail glowed silver as he almost swatted the Goldeen with enough force to smash it into the wall of the gym. The power behind the strike did the trick as Goldeen was unconscious before it fell to the ground.

"Goldeen is unable to battle. Dratini wins." Announced the referee.

"Okaaaay," commented Misty as she withdrew her Goldeen. "I did not expect that. No one has used the water against me. To see my biggest advantage being used against me is disconcerting, I will admit that. You are good, no question about it." She suddenly smirked. "This match just became a lot more interesting."

She released her second pokemon, who was Staryu, as expected. She also, Ash noticed with a smirk, released it on the platform. By winning the first battle way he did, he made sure that Misty's pokemon would not jump into the water to dodge the attacks. And with Dratini being in the water, the roles have been reversed. Now, Ash's pokemon had the whole battlefield to use while Staryu was restricted.

"Staryu vs Dratini. Begin!" Shouted the referee.

"Water Gun!" Misty shouted.

"Thundershock!" Ash countered.

Dratini dodged the sprout of water from the star shape pokemon and sent a stream of electricity in return. Staryu started rotating rapidly and rose in the air dodging the attack as well.

Ash rose an eyebrow in surprise as he saw the pokemon floating in the air. He had not expected that. The battle continued in a similar vein with no attacks making it to the opposing pokemon. Dratini dodged all attacks by diving underwater, the surface of the water stopping all of Staryu's attacks, even Swift, which is supposed to be unavoidable. Staryu, on the other hand, used its rapid spin to float above any attacks Dratini sent at it. Both trainers were vexed on what to do as this battle is new territory for them. Misty is not used to battling from the air and Ash is not used to trying to fighting a pokemon that was staying far away and attacking only from a distance.

Deciding that enough is enough, Ash decided to make a move. "Dratini, swim," he murmured so that his opponent would not hear his plan. He had found out long ago that pokemon had much better hearing than humans. "Stay there for a while and charge a Dragon Rage. Surprise it. Follow up with Thundershock."

Ash saw with baited breath as Dratini started the plan. He dove underwater, and stayed there. And did nothing for the next minute or so. A tense atmosphere descended on the battlefield as everyone waited for Dratini to make his move. Even Misty could not do anything but tell Staryu to be on guard since she knew that Dratini and Ash held all the cards for this battle.

Dratini suddenly burst into action. There was no warning from Ash, Misty confirmed that. No orders, no gestures, nothing. He broke the surface of the water and Misty could see an attack charged at the tip of its snout. She yelled out a warning to her Staryu, but it was for naught as the compressed ball of draconic energy shot towards her Staryu at breakneck speed. Staryu managed to shift to the side so that the attack impacted one of its limbs instead of the jewel at its centre, but the damage was done. It shouted in pain as it lost control over Rapid Spin, allowing gravity to do its work by pulling the injured pokemon to the Earth's surface.

"Finish it!" Ash yelled ecstatically, pumping his fist in the air at the plan working. Dratini happily rumbled in agreement as twin bolts of electricity originated from its snout and shocked the falling Staryu into unconsciousness, the super effective move doing the damage.

"Staryu is unable to battle. Dratini wins." Announced the referee.

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Not bad, Ash," Misty commented as she withdrew her Staryu. "This is the first time I've had to battle like this, without being able to use the water which is supposed to be my trump card. Now I know what other trainers feel like when they come here," she smirked. "But this battle is far from over. Seeing what you did in these two battles is getting my blood pumping. I'm going to give you the best I got. Let's finish this, Starmie!"

The evolved form of Staryu stood on the battlefield, ready to battle. Ash was slightly unnerved by the confident smirk on Misty's face. He knew that Starmie was her strongest pokemon, but this confident a smirk when seeing that she had just one pokemon left and Ash had three? She had something planned, Ash was sure of that.

"Starmie vs Dratini. Begin!" Announced the referee.

"Starmie, Ice Beam." Misty announced happily.

"Shit," Ash muttered as he now understood why Misty was so confident. Starmie knew one of the only moves that can knock out a dragon-type pokemon in one hit. Dratini wasted no time in going underwater to dodge the attack, instinctively knowing the damage the attack can cause.

"Finish this, Starmie! Thunderbolt!"

"Get out of there!" Ash yelled, but he knew it was futile. Misty had played this one perfectly. Using Ice Beam to ensure that Dratini dodges by going under the water left him with no time to dodge the follow up Thunderbolt. Ash grimaced as he heard Dratini screaming in pain from the electrified water, unable to withdraw him either. He had to wait for the attack to end for Dratini to float up, knocked out.

"Dratini is unable to battle. Starmie wins." Announced the referee.

"Good job, buddy." Ash said as he withdrew Dratini. "Rest now, you deserve it."

"I'm sorry for that, Ash. I know how hard it is to hear your pokemon scream like that and being unable to withdraw them due to them being underwater. Been there before." Apologized Misty.

"It's alright," Ash sighed. He gave a slight smile, and continued, "There will be instances when my pokemon will be injured far worse and by people who don't care about pokemon as much as you do. It's naïve of me to think otherwise."

"I still apologize."

"Well, then. Apology accepted." Ash then took out a pokeball and tossed it onto one of the decks on the swimming pool. "Let's do this."

Ash's pokeball opened to reveal his starter. While Pikachu hated being inside his pokeball, Ash had managed to convince him to do so during the important battles. This way, his opponent will not have an idea about his pokemon and his strategy before the battle even starts.

"Starmie vs Pikachu. Begin!"

"Let's start this with Quick Tail."

Pikachu blurred off, jumping from platform to platform as he ran towards the Starmie with his tail glowing silver.

"Reflect," Misty instructed calmly. A glowing shield, golden in colour, sprang up in front of the Starmie. Pikachu's speed was too much for him to slow down at the moment and he crashed straight into the shield. While he may not have damaged his opponent, his Iron Tail was strong enough to destroy the psychic shield. Unfortunately, doing so left him wide open, something Misty made full use of.

"Water Pulse."

A ball of water formed in front of Starmie and shot towards Pikachu, who was only a couple of feet away. It crashed into Pikachu, forming a river of water sweeping Pikachu away into the pool.

"Pikachu!"

"Let's finish this! Swift!"

Multiple glowing stars came out of Starmie's jewel in the middle of its body and honed in towards Pikachu. This was one of those attacks which never missed. It could only be countered, not dodged.

"Pikachu, swim inside the water!" Ash said, a plan forming in his head.

"You made the same mistake again, Ash! Even if Pikachu is an electric-type pokemon, it can still be damaged by an electric-type attack. Especially when it is so widespread as it is in the pool! Starmie, Thunderbolt!"

Multiple bolts of electricity originating from Starmie's jewel electrified the water. Misty waited for the tell-tale signs of Pikachu screaming in pain and the battle ending, but none came. She was further confused when Pikachu swam up to a platform a few seconds after the attack ended, looking none the worse for wear. In fact, he looked slightly better than he had before the attack hit him.

"Huh?" Misty asked.

"I didn't make the same mistake again, Misty. In fact, I counted on you using the same attack you used on Dratini to finish this match. Too bad, it worked in my favour! Pikachu, Spark! After that, show that pokemon what a true Thunderbolt looks like!"

Pikachu started running towards Starmie again, this time with its cheeks sparking and a layer of electric energy surrounding it.

"Reflect!" Misty shouted again, knowing that Starmie would not be able to dodge the attack as Pikachu was much quicker than Starmie on land. Once again, Pikachu crashed into the psychic barrier put up by Starmie, but was better prepared for it. As soon as his first attack ended, he used the electrical energy he surrounded himself in for the Spark attack to unleash a massive Thunderbolt, the electricity he absorbed via Starmie's Thunderbolt helping make the attack more powerful.

This time, the roles reversed as Starmie was too close to Pikachu to put up any form of resistance and got the full brunt of the attack. It screamed in pain as the super effective attack coursed through its body before falling down.

"Alright! Awesome job, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

" **Pika, Pika!** " panted Pikachu, his chest heaving up and down, the last attack taking a lot out of him. Ash made a mental note of that and to make sure that Pikachu got lots of training in mastering the move.

"Starmie, Water Pulse, again."

"What?" asked Ash stupefied and watched in horror as Starmie formed another ball of water and crashed it into the ground in front of Pikachu. The stream of water formed hit Pikachu full on as he was too shocked to move. He was sent crashing back as he shouted in pain.

"How?" he asked again, not able to believe his eyes.

"Naïve, Ash. Did you really think that my pokemon would be taken out by one attack? Starmie is my strongest pokemon to battle with newbies for a reason. And even if you thought that the attack was enough, you should have made sure that Starmie was unconscious before celebrating. There are referees present for a reason. And now, this mistake is going to cost you the match. Starmie, Recover."

To Ash's further horror, Starmie glowed with a purple light as the Mysterious pokemon started to heal itself. Its drooping limbs straightened and it shook itself as the move finished doing its magic. On the other side, Pikachu was struggling to even stand. Ash grimaced at the turn of events and could not help but curse himself for his stupidity. He made a vow to not do any premature celebrations for the rest of his life!

"Pikachu, can you still fight? Or do you want me to switch you out?"

" **Pika, Pika!** " was the answer as the small, mouse pokemon glared at his opponent for the surprise attack.

"You should have returned your Pikachu! Now it will just suffer more!" Misty exclaimed. "Starmie, Swift!"

"We'll see about that!" Ash exclaimed as he turned his cap around, getting more into the match. "Thundershock to blast them away! Blindside it and then shock it again!"

Pikachu intercepted the stars coming at him with a weak shock of electricity and immediately phased into Quick Attack as he disappeared at full speed. He reappeared a couple of seconds later behind Starmie and sent a couple of bolts of electricity at it. Too surprised by Pikachu suddenly reappearing behind it, Starmie could only take the attack as it screamed in pain again.

"No! Starmie! Shake it off and use Bubble Beam!"

While the Thundershock would have been enough to finish it off before, it was hardly strong enough to finish off a recovered Starmie. It shook off the effects of the attack and sent a continuous blast of bubbles at Pikachu who barely dodged the attack. The battle was taking a toll on him, affecting his dexterity, something Ash made a note of, and Ash was sure Misty noticed it too.

Ash knew that Pikachu would struggle to dodge another attack. And he was too tired to produce another Thunderbolt. No other attack of his would be enough to finish this battle. Ash sighed as he realised that he had lost this round. But he would not lose the battle. Pikachu can assure his victory in the next round. Too bad he didn't win the round, Ash would have to apologize to him later for his stupidity.

"That Pikachu is weak! Finish it off, Starmie! Ice Beam!"

"Evade and paralyze it!" Ash countered.

Thin beams of ice originated from Starmie's jewel and arced towards Pikachu, who jumped above the attack and sent a thin stream of electricity at the Mysterious pokemon. Starmie merely redirected its attack to the airborne Pikachu who took the full brunt of it and screamed in pain before he finally fell unconscious.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Starmie wins!"

Ash withdrew Pikachu, and said, "I'm sorry, buddy. We should have won this, but I lost it for us. You were amazing. I could not have asked more from you." He then put the pokeball back on his belt. He let Pikachu be in the pokeball so that he could rest in stasis.

"I must admit, your Pikachu is one tough cookie. He would have easily defeated Starmie had you guys not made that mistake."

"Yeah," Ash grimaced. He took out his final pokeball, and said, "It's all up to you now. Let's win this!" with that, he released Floette.

"A Floette?" Misty asked in surprise. "I definitely did not expect that. You definitely are an interesting trainer, Ash!"

"Thanks," Ash smirked. He loved the reactions he got from trainers when they saw his Dratini or his Floette.

"Starmie vs Floette. Begin!"

"Alright, Starmie! Let's start this with a Bubble Beam!"

"I want us to finish this, Floette. Pikachu has already weakened it" Ash said as Floette easily dodged the thin beam of bubbles sent by Starmie. "Wrap it up in your vines. Then finish it with Magical Leaf!"

When Floette sent numerous vines at the Starmie to follow Ash's instructions, Misty was calm since she was sure that Starmie would easily dodge the attack. Imagine her surprise when Starmie didn't move. Her brows furrowed, wondering what was wrong, when she saw it. A thin stream of electricity coursing through Starmie's body. It was then that Misty remembered Ash's last order to Pikachu before the mouse pokemon fainted. Paralyze it. She smirked as she realized that Pikachu had taken the hit but had severely dented Misty's chances of winning this battle. She really wanted a rematch with this kid. Time and again he was proving to be a worthy adversary.

"Use Swift to counter the leaves!" Misty instructed. While she may admit that the kid is good, she's not just going to sit there and let him win!

The stars produced by Starmie hit the leaves produced by Floette as the two attacks cancelled each other out.

"Floette, smash it into the ground. Once it is disoriented, finish it with Razor Leaf!"

The battle was anticlimactic compared to the previous battle as the paralyzed and weakened Starmie was quickly knocked out, the damage from being slammed into the ground and the super effective attack was too much for the Mysterious pokemon. It fell down and its jewel flashed. Ash didn't say anything, waiting for any surprise attack, having being on the receiving end of one already.

"Starmie is unable to battle. The winner of this match is the challenger!" The referee announced.

Only then did Ash let out a cheer as he hugged a cheerful Floette to his chest. "Great job, Floette!"

" **Flo, Flo, Et!** " his fairy-type cheered as well.

"That was a great battle," Misty said as she walked towards Ash in the challenger's box. "Do me a favour, will ya? Come back before you challenge the League and face my full team. It will be a fun battle!"

"Sure, I look forward to it!" Ash smiled as he thought that it would be good practice for the League, considering that Misty is one of the best water-type trainers in Kanto and she is also one of the most powerful ones as well.

"Here is your reward for beating me," she said as she handed out the Cascade Badge to Ash. "Along with that, you get the TM for Water Pulse. Now, there is something we Gym Leaders give the more promising trainers. Anyone we find promising is given a TM which can be used an infinite number of times. And that is what I'd like to give you, Ash."

"How can you find me promising when you saw what happened in the battle between Pikachu and Starmie?" Ash asked, a little despondent.

"That's called inexperience, Ash. Did you think that I've never done that before? For that matter, did you think that Lance has never done that before? You've just started your journey, you're bound to make mistakes. It's how you recover from your mistakes that define what kind of trainer you are. Anyway, your promise as a trainer has nothing to do with you making mistakes. It depends on the strategies you come up with and especially, it depends on the bonds you form with your pokemon. Both are exceptional from what I have seen, especially for a trainer who's been on the road for a couple of months."

"Thanks, Misty." Ash smiled as she was successful in cheering him up.

"Now, I just have to register you on this so that other Gym Leaders know that I have seen your promise," she said as she held up a device. "Now, they can't deny you a TM similar to what I have given." She started typing his name before she stopped short. "Wait a sec. This says that Brock has already registered you. Did he not tell you about the deal?" she asked, confused.

"He did," Ash admitted. "However, I wanted you to judge me worthy on your own, not because someone else has done so."

"Is that so?" Misty asked with a smile on her face. "That's a good attitude to have, kid. You keep proving my feeling that you will go far as a trainer to be true."

"Thanks, Misty."

"So shall we go to the Pokemon Centre?" she asked. "We both need to get our pokemon healed.

"Sure, let's go."

Both trainers left the gym talking to each other. As they were walking, Ash could not help the small, proud smile that came to his face as he took another step closer to his dream. He had learnt a lot on the trip to Cerulean. His journey would not be easy, his arrogance needed to be checked for it lead to pain, death is a possibility on his journey if he is not careful. He lost a lot of his innocence here, but at the end of the day, he was happy. All these events were making him and his team stronger, and he was that much more prepared for the rest of his journey.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

 **Chapter End.**

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update. My muse vanished for some time. I hope the long chapter makes up for it. Don't expect all chapters to be this long, though.**

 **I'm wondering if I should write the current move set of the pokemon on my profile. And the status of the next chapter as is done by vincentgrey21 for his fic Essence (if you haven't read that story yet, do it now! A brilliant story! If my story is half as good as his, I'll be very happy.)**

 **So, thoughts on the story? Any suggestions? Do tell me what you liked and what you didn't like. It will help me write my future chapters better. Again, constructive criticism is welcome. I've already tried to implement what I was told in chapter 3.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon.**

 **A/N: First of all, thank you for the reviews, the follows, and the favourites. A big thank you to my beta stars90 as well as Dark Serpent Cat, Omni-Creator Kami, and Vital Info for helping me bounce ideas around for the story. They have been a massive help. Also, Snoozing Lurker, please get a profile so that I can reply to your reviews.**

 **PLEASE NOTE that the rating of this story has been raised to M for violence and mentions of rape.**

Innocence Lost

Ash was in a jubilant mood as he prepared a sandwich for himself while his pokemon were eating their pokemon food in the bowls Ash laid out in front of them. And why wouldn't he be? Things had been looking up for him since the fiasco at Mt. Moon. His first pokemon evolved, he then went on to win his second badge, that too on his first try. Life was good for Ash and his pokemon and he meant to enjoy it for as long as he can.

For this reason, Ash had decided to take a slight detour on his journey. Instead of going south of Cerulean City towards Vermilion City, the destination of his next gym battle, he went north. North of Cerulean City are routes 24 and 25. These routes are generally empty because route 25 ends at the sea and there is really nothing much to do on these routes. This provided Ash with an opportunity to spend a couple of weeks with his pokemon, travelling and training, challenging the odd trainers that are on this path, and seeing the wild pokemon that lived here. He might capture a pokemon or two, but mostly, he just wants to spend time with his family without having to worry about battling nearby trainers.

Having reached the end of route 24, Ash thought that his decision had been inspired. Eevee, Dratini, and Floette had loved the chance to spend the entire day out of their pokeballs. The absence of battling had also allowed them to spend a lot more time training than they used to. While Ash had told them to take these two weeks off so as to not burn out, his pokemon were more fired up than ever to become stronger. The result of the battle at Mt. Moon still lingered on their minds and they had sworn to never feel that weak again. Seeing them this fired up had stoked Ash's fires up and after spending the first day admonishing his pokemon for overtraining, he took part in the training sessions with renewed vigour himself.

The main thing that stopped Ash from complaining too much was the obvious joy and contentment on the faces of his pokemon at the end of each day. While they trained more, they spent enough time fooling around with each other to compensate. And stopping every hour to train for a few minutes was fine with Ash. It allowed them to review their knowledge of a move, or to think of a new way to learn a new move, as the case may be.

Floette had benefitted a lot from spending time outside her pokeball. Since the move she was learning, Wish, was done by catalysing chemicals in her body to quicken her healing process, she could spend the entire day trying to find the correct combination of released chemicals that did their job with no loss of energy. Every time she thought she had it down, Ash would instruct one of his other pokemon to hit her with a weak attack, to see if the healing process began. The continuous training over a couple of days allowed her to master the move much quicker than Ash expected her to.

On seeing her learn Wish, Ash made the snap decision to finally give her a role in the team. So far, Pikachu is one who would use his speed and strong electric power to take down his opponents. Dratini would evolve to become his go to man of sorts, with him learning a lot of moves of different types. It would allow him to take out almost any opponent. Eevee's role would depend on the pokemon she decides to evolve into. Ash was still not sure what he wanted Floette to do, but he went on a limb and went with his gut.

He decided to make her the "tank" of the team. She would be the one who would either outright overpower her opponent, or she would wear them down, extending the battle, till they got tired, before defeating them. Basically, she would make the battle one of attrition instead of one of speed or power, and Wish gave her the perfect starting point to do so. While Floette's body is not made to withstand a lot of hits, she can recover from them using Wish. Now, Ash just had to make sure that she was hit less often. And he got her started on that by having her learn Double Team from Pikachu. Having Pikachu explain the concept behind the move and coaching her when she practiced it, Floette was well on her way to learning the move already.

Pikachu, on the other hand, was busy trying to master Thunderbolt. Even when Ash suggested that he learn another move alongside mastering Thunderbolt, he adamantly refused. While Ash kept saying that the loss against Starmie was his fault and not Pikachu's, he refused to listen. According to him, both were at fault for not checking whether Starmie was unconscious or not before celebrating. But, it was solely his fault for not defeating the Mysterious pokemon regardless of that. He had managed to get in a couple of hits before falling unconscious. If he was powerful enough, Starmie would have been knocked out in one. So, he adamantly refused to learn anything else before he mastered that damn move!

And he was slowly succeeding. His body was not yet used to producing or handling such massive amounts of electricity, which is why he gets weakened when he uses the move. Continuously strengthening his body every hour for the last few days was finally showing its worth as Pikachu could now fire six Thunderbolts before they took their toll on his body. He aimed to get to ten Thunderbolts before moving on to the next move.

Ash felt a surge of pride flowing through his body as Eevee finally formed a perfect Shadow Ball and launched it at a boulder, successfully forming cracks all over it. After weeks and weeks of work, Eevee had finally succeeded in her goal. And Ash could not be prouder. Of all his pokemon, she had chosen the toughest move to master and struggled through it to succeed. Even Thunderbolt, which Pikachu was mastering, came about due to absorbing the access amount of electricity discharged by the Electabuzz. Now, the attack just had to be battle tested. That was fine with Ash as Eevee already knew how to perform the move. Adjusting the power wouldn't take her too long.

Once Eevee learnt Shadow Ball, she wanted to decide her next move as well. But this time, Ash put his foot down. She was the weakest of his pokemon and Ash wanted to bring her to the level of the rest of them. He instructed her to learn Swift. In this move, the user shoots star-shaped rays at their opponent. The attack never misses. Ash had seen Staryu use the attack in the gym and he wanted Eevee to have such an attack.

So far, Eevee was able to get the concept behind the attack. She could even produce a single ray at her target. However, Swift relied on sending multiple rays at the opponent, so Eevee still had some way to go before mastering the move. But they immediately noticed the difference between learning Shadow Ball and learning Swift. Shadow Ball took almost two months to learn. In comparison, Swift will take barely a quarter of that time.

Another reason why Ash was so happy was that he finally got to use the gift he got from his mother on his birthday. The TM case. He went through the instructions again, not that he needed to since he had memorized them long before he left for his journey. He inserted the TM for Water Pulse in the slot and quickly downloaded it into the case. The case his mom bought for him was high end, and Ash could store up to ten TMs at a time. He then inserted Dratini's pokeball in the case, selected the link for Water Pulse, and started the upload.

The case worked by uploading the knowledge of the attack directly into the brain of the pokemon. While some trainers thought that was it, Ash knew that the pokemon didn't master the move immediately. The pokemon just knew the basics of the attack, it still needed to practice. The TMs just cut down the training time.

Ash had done the upload on the first day and told Dratini to practice the move afterwards. It was a good idea as the first time Dratini used the move, he produced a large wave, filling the clearing with water that rose to calf-level. Dratini had been almost knocked unconscious due to expending so much energy. Since then, he had practiced the move enough so that his Water Pulse had started to resemble the one Starmie used in the gym battle. Ash was pretty happy with his progress and knew that Dratini needed to spend only another day or two on that move.

Ash frowned as he was packing his bag to continue the journey when he noticed one of the packs of pokemon food missing. He always kept careful count of the food so that he'd know when it is about to run out. So he knew when one went missing.

"Guys, one of the packs of pokemon food is missing. I may have dropped it when I took out the food. Can you help me look for it?" Unfortunately, no matter how much they tried, they could not find it anywhere. Ash felt amused at the situation, though he had no idea why. After a futile half an hour of searching, they decided to move on.

This process continued for the next couple of days as well. Ash would find one of his packs of pokemon food missing and then he would feel amused when he was searching for it. The last part would always leave him confused. After all, why would he find amusement in missing food? However, right now, he felt amusement at his confusion as well. This had never happened before. With a jolt, he finally realized that the amusement he felt was not his own. Pondering over this, he started frowning as the pieces slowly fell into place. The missing food, the amusement he felt.

"Guys!" Ash snapped out. "A pokemon has been stealing our food. A psychic one if my guess is right. Be on guard! Don't let it escape us next time!" While he wasn't angry, the antics of the pokemon were annoying. He would have been happy to share the food with any wild pokemon. There's no reason to steal it!

Despite being on guard, the pokemon managed to evade Ash and his team that night as well. However, its luck ran out the next day during breakfast. Or so Ash thought. He was distracted from his breakfast by a shout from Pikachu.

" **Pika, Pika!** " He looked at Pikachu pointing at a bipedal pokemon that was primarily yellow in colour. It had a kite-shaped face, a pale yellow snout, and pointed ears. And a bag of pokemon food in its hands.

"Abra!" Ash shouted, on recognizing the psi pokemon. It just looked at Ash and teleported away. "Where did it go?"

" **Vee, Eevee!** " Eevee shouted as she started running towards the east. There, they could see Abra sitting and opening the bag of food. As Ash and his pokemon caught up with it, it looked at Ash and he suddenly felt amusement in his head again. Ash looked at the Abra wearily as the Abra was looking at Ash mischievously. He teleported away again.

Ash and his pokemon looked around for it again. And Ash felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance when he saw the Abra sitting and eating his breakfast. At the exact same spot where Ash was eating his breakfast a minute ago. As Ash almost stomped to Abra, the Abra smiled at Ash and teleported again.

" **Flo!** " Floette shouted as she was the one to spot the elusive psi pokemon this time. This continued for another half hour as Abra kept teleporting away from Ash and his pokemon, always staying in viewing distance of them. It was annoying them to no end. Ash had never wished for one of his pokemon to know a move as fervently as he did now, as none of his pokemon knew Mean Look or Block, attacks that stopped a pokemon from teleporting.

Now, Abra was done with his breakfast and was waiting for Ash. Again, he felt amusement in his mind and this just irked him even more. "Okay, Abra. You've had your fun. Now, let us eat our breakfast in peace," he muttered out tiredly. The constant chasing for half an hour had sapped his energy. For Arceus' sake, he had not even had his breakfast yet.

The amusement in his mind spiked for a second when he finished that statement. Throwing an annoyed glance at the (he would swear it was smirking at him) psi pokemon, he started eating his cereal as his pokemon settled down to eat theirs. After finishing his breakfast and cooling down, he looked at the Abra who was sitting there peacefully. ' _Wait, is it sleeping?'_ thought Ash, annoyed.

He then remembered that Abra was essentially like human babies, and needed to sleep 18 hours a day. An evil smirk crossed Ash's face as plans for revenge crossed his mind. "Pikachu, wake him up for me, will you?" he asked, the smirk still on his face.

" **Pika, Pika!** " Pikachu answered as the same evil smirk came on the faces of all his pokemon. Unfortunately, Pikachu had barely started charging his attack when Abra teleported away. _'Of course,'_ Ash mused. _'Telepathy. That's how I've been able to sense his emotions all this while.'_

Abra had still not teleported too far, just enough distance to not be affected by Pikachu's attack. Ash walked up to it, and said, "Abra, wake up. I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Ash was getting pumped. While he had been involved in a lot of battles, even one of life and death, he had never battled a wild pokemon with the intention of catching it yet. Pikachu was his starter and he had to convince the rest of them to join him in the Safari Zone.

The Abra opened its eyes and stared at Ash. It gave him a nod, but continued sitting there. Of course, it can't stand till it evolves. Ash took the nod as the Abra's acceptance of his challenge. "Eevee, let's go!"

" **Vee!** " she barked as she bounded forward. "Start with Quick Attack." She bounded forward in a burst of speed but found herself hitting nothing but thin air as the Abra teleported again. Eevee tried again, this time running with her tail glowing, but the result was the same. Another couple of attacks were dodged similarly, and it was then that Ash noticed Abra was not attacking back. He grimaced at his slow uptake as he remembered that Abra were peaceful pokemon that only knew Teleport to run away from danger.

Quickly spotting a pattern in Abra's movement, Ash decided to direct Eevee once again. "Get ready to charge a Shadow Ball. Attack it with a Quick Attack. Once it teleports, hit it with a Shadow ball immediately!"

Ash had noticed that Abra needed some time to teleport again. He wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't mastered teleporting every second yet, or if he tired himself out with the continuous teleporting he had done over the past half hour. As predicted, Abra could not teleport immediately after teleporting once and could only look on in despair as the super effective move barrelled into it. It cried out in pain as the ghostly energy coursed through its body before finally falling unconscious.

"Pokeball, go!" Ash shouted as he threw an empty pokeball at the fallen psi pokemon. The pokeball, on hitting Abra, burst open and sucked it in in a stream of red energy. The ball shut and fell down after which it shook a couple of times, before stopping with a ding. The red light that was flashing in the middle of the pokeball stopped, and Ash exulted in the joy of catching his first pokemon after a battle.

He petted Eevee on her head in congratulations. It was the first time that she had used Shadow Ball in battle and knocked out her opponent in one hit. While Abra may be weak against the move and it may be a weak pokemon in general, it was satisfying to see your efforts over a couple of months finally paying off.

Ash quickly released Abra and used a Revive followed by a Potion on it. Once Abra was looking healthy, Ash spoke to it. "Hello, Abra. My name is Ash Ketchum. First of all, are you feeling okay?" He wanted to make sure that Abra was healed properly before continuing his conversation. When Abra nodded, Ash started speaking to the Abra. He told it his dreams, what he expected of his pokemon, and what his pokemon could expect from him as a trainer. He ended it by asking Abra if he wanted to join him on his journey. Abra nodded and Ash felt satisfaction in his mind. Nodding happily, Ash took out his pokedex and pointed it at Abra to scan it.

 **Abra, the psi pokemon. Abra needs to sleep eighteen hours a day. If it doesn't, this pokemon loses its ability to use telekinetic powers. If it is attacked, Abra escapes using Teleport while it is still sleeping. This Abra is male and has the ability Synchronize. This Abra knows the move Teleport. This Abra knows the egg move Fire Punch, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

"Welcome to the family, Abra!"

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Life with an Abra was…interesting. He slept for 18 hours a day, so training him was difficult. Ash decided to start teaching him Iron Tail, a move that three of his four pokemon knew. Since Abra won't be able to train for the crazy hours that the rest of his pokemon could, he would need all the help he could get. So, having Ash and three of his teammates train him was useful.

Other than that, he loved to learn, something Ash expected from the psi pokemon. Ash resolved to buy a few books for Abra to read the next opportunity he gets. If not learning new words from Ash or making his tail stronger to learn Iron Tail, he was fast asleep on Ash's back or trying to cause as much havoc as he possibly could. Like now, for example.

"Alright, Floette! Show me Double Team!" Ash was checking Floette's progression on the move. When Floette started building the energy for the attack, her concentration was destroyed by Abra teleporting. Right on top of her head! Floette gave a frustrated cry as she lost focus and Abra's amusement could be felt in everyone's mind.

"Abra!" Ash said sternly. He had been playing these pranks since Ash caught him. None of them were malicious, just annoying. Ash let them be since it was mostly during meal times. But this was the first time that Abra had done it during training and it seemed like Ash will have to set some boundaries.

"I don't mind you pranking, Abra. But there is a time and a place for everything. You can't do this when someone is training. Not only because I don't want you to interrupt their training session, but also because it is highly dangerous!"

Ash felt confusion coming from the Abra and the distinct thought of why echoed in his mind. Discarding the fact that Abra spoke his first word to Ash for later, he sought to clarify. "Floette was practicing Double Team. Even if it goes wrong, there's no harm done. But what if she was practicing a damaging attack? Considering the fact that they are learning the moves and don't have full control over them, the distraction could have caused Floette to lose control and really hurt someone, perhaps even critically! Now, do you understand why you need to have boundaries?"

Ash felt chagrin and sorrow in his mind as he again distinctly heard a sorry in his head. He sighed and put a hand on top of Abra's head. "It's alright, buddy. I know you were just looking for a laugh. And now that you know, you won't do it again, will you?"

As he saw Abra nod his head, Ash continued. "Anyway, let's put this past us! Two words popped up in my head that I know weren't my thoughts. Did you just speak to me?" he asked in amazement.

 _Little_ popped up in Ash's head again.

"So you can speak a word or two at a time, but not more than that?" Ash clarified.

 _Yes_

"That's great, Abra. We'll work on that. Soon, we'll be having full conversations!" Ash was beyond excited at the prospect of talking to one of his pokemon. He knew such conversations would be impossible till Abra evolves into a Kadabra, but Ash was still excited. Maybe Abra could also let Ash know what the rest of his pokemon are feeling as well. Good times were waiting for Ash.

The next day passed the same way, as Ash finally left route 24 to enter route 25. Ash was exploring the forest to collect some firewood as he was in the mood to eat something warm for a change. While walking, he heard a group of people talking. He frowned as he recalled all of his pokemon other than Pikachu to their pokeballs. He'd had a bad incident a few days ago where a passing trainer saw his Dratini and Floette and tried to catch them. Since then, Ash had started recalling all his pokemon whenever he saw other trainers.

Walking to the group of people, Ash saw a bunch of boys surrounding another boy who was running on a treadmill. They were all his age and were wearing suits, much Ash's internal disgust. After all, who in their right mind would wear suits at their age? As he neared them, curious to see what was going on, he heard the group asking a bunch of questions to the boy on the treadmill.

"What is Caterpie's final evolution?" one asked.

"Metapod. No, Butterfree!" the boy on the treadmill huffed out.

"Need two tries for that, how pathetic!" one muttered. The same guy then continued. "At what level does Pidgey evolve?"

"Sixteen?" the boy on the treadmill asked apprehensively.

"Sixteen? What's wrong with you? You've been here for a year and you don't even know at what level a Pidgey evolves? Forget it, there's no helping you." With that said, the group of boys went to a building that was in a sprawling compound a few miles away, leaving the boy on the treadmill alone.

After seeing no one come to help the poor boy, Ash approached him. Ash couldn't help but feel bad for him after seeing him sitting all alone and hunched up like that. "Hey, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Huh?" the boy looked around in shock, startled by the sudden question. "Oh yeah, I'm alright," he said, trying to show a smile on his face and failing miserably.

"Don't let those guys pull you down," encouraged Ash. "They're nothing more than a bunch of bullies."

"They're not," the guy defended. "They're my friends. They were just trying to help."

"Didn't look like that from where I'm standing," commented Ash. "What were they doing, anyway?"

"They were helping me prepare for my exams. I study in the Pokemon Technical Institute. It's a really expensive school, and my parents saved up a lot of money for me to attend it. And now I'm not doing too well. So, they were trying to help me prepare, as you probably heard."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night better," snorted Ash. "What's a level, anyway?"

"Huh?"

"They mentioned levels. At what level does a Pidgey evolve? What is a level you are referring to here?"

"You don't know?" the boy asked, aghast. "I thought you were a pokemon trainer!"

"I am," Ash scowled. "And one of my pokemon has evolved as well. But I don't know anything about levels. And I studied under Professor Oak!"

"How did you study under Professor Oak and not know what a level is? Basically, the more a pokemon wins, the more experience it gets. Increase in experience increases the level of a pokemon. After it reaches a particular level, it evolves. For example, a Pidgey evolves into a Pidgeotto at level 18."

Ash took in this explanation for a few seconds before he started laughing. Loudly.

"What is so funny?" the boy scowled.

"Hahaha, sorry. It's just that this is too funny. Who came up with this nonsense? First of all, a pokemon only gains experience by winning? A pokemon does gain some experience by winning, but it also gains experience by training. In fact, it gains the most experience when it loses as it always learns something from each loss. If a pokemon never loses, it will never learn and grow." Ash explained passionately.

" **Pika, Pika!** " Pikachu nodded at his trainer's words trying to make the boy understand how idiotic he was being.

"Well, this is what we were taught at our institute."

Ash held back a comment, he didn't want to insult the boy because he was taught wrong. He then commented on something else he noticed. "I heard you say Pidgey evolves at level 18. But when the other boys asked you that question, you got it wrong. Why did you do that?"

"Oh, that." Here, the boy got depressed again. "If I answer questions correctly, they just keep getting progressively harder."

Ash tried to make sense of that logic in his head, but failed to. In his opinion, he should be asked tougher questions. This way, his knowledge would increase. He kept his opinion to himself though, to each his own. He decided to question him about the institute itself.

"So, what is this Pokemon Technical Institute? What is its purpose? Oh, by the way, my name is Ash Ketchum." Ash introduced himself after realizing that he had forgotten to do so before.

"My name is Joe," the now named Joe replied. "The Institute is an alternative for trainers who don't want to go for the gym circuit. We study, give exams, and when we graduate, we get admission into the Pokemon League."

Ash opened his mouth, then shut it. While he thought that nothing can replace real life experience and the bonds one makes with his pokemon, he didn't want to criticise the Institute. Yet. He still had to see if they had a system that compensates for the trainer's lack of real life experience. So, when Joe offered to show Ash around the school, Ash jumped at the chance.

The Institute was impressive, Ash had to admit. The lush fields, the huge battleground, the machine that simulates different weather patterns and terrains to prepare the trainers for real life. All these thoughts in Ash's head grounded to a halt when Joe led Ash to a room he called the simulator room. Here, Joe went on to explain that it's not just one battle, but the overall skill as a trainer that determines success at the Institute. And that despite being one of the weakest students, Joe was better than any trainer with two badges. He then went on to a simulator which simulated a battle between Misty's Starmie and Joe's Weepinbell. The Weepinbell used Razor Leaf which knocked the Starmie out cold and ended the battle.

Ash was staring at the simulator incredulously trying to understand what just happened. He imagined Misty's expression when she found out about the simulator and how it "beat" her and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Joe asked. His anger kept rising as instead of answering, Ash just kept on laughing. Every time it looked like he would stop, Ash would burst out laughing again. It didn't help that the little mouse pokemon on Ash's shoulder fell off because it was laughing just as hard as its trainer.

"What the hell, man? Will you two stop laughing!" Joe really was pissed now.

"Haha, sorry." Ash chortled. "It's just that hahahaha," Ash started laughing again. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that we've never seen anything as stupid as this before." He then proceeded to start laughing again. He envied Pikachu, who didn't have to stop laughing to explain something like that.

"This is not stupid. This simulator is used by the Institute to test how advance the students are. They are even used as a test to make students graduate!"

"Doesn't make it any less stupid!" Ash retorted. "How about I prove it? You said you're better than a trainer with two badges? Well, I have two badges myself. How about you prove how much better you are than me?"

"Gladly. You keep insulting our Institute. I'll show you just how good it is!"

Both trainers moved to the field where Joe took out a pokeball and released a Weepinbell. Probably the same Weepinbell that the one in the simulator was based on.

Ash took out his pokeball, and said. "Eevee, let's do this."

In a flash, Eevee stood ready for battle. Ash chose Eevee since he wanted to see how powerful Shadow Ball could be on a non-psychic type pokemon.

"You ready?" Ash asked.

"Ready when you are!" Both trainers nodded at each other and Joe started the battle. "Weepinbell, Razor Leaf!"

Ash just smirked and watched the battle unfold. Eevee easily dodged the leaves coming at her as she phased into Quick Attack. Before Weepinbell could react, it was sent flying back by Eevee. Ash had no need to give any instructions as Eevee followed that up by continuing the Quick Attack and hitting the Weepingbell again, successfully knocking it out.

Eevee walked up to Ash with her head high, almost strutting along the way. She jumped into Ash's arms where he proceeded to groom her just the way she liked it. He then looked at Joe, who was staring at the unconscious Weepinbell, in disappointment.

"Was that it? For all that talk about you being better than a trainer with two badges, your pokemon got knocked out so easily? For Arceus' sake, I didn't even need to direct my Eevee in battle!"

"How did I lose so easily? I know that I am better than a trainer with two badges."

"That's because you were so naïve!" A voice cuts in. Ash turns to see who it was, and his eyebrows rose at the admittedly beautiful girl walking to the field. She had brown hair that went to waist height and complimented her striking brown eyes well. As Ash was taking her in, she continued.

"Did you really think that your pokemon can compensate for your opponent's battle experience? People like you are a blight to this school and only bring its reputation down!"

On seeing Joe visibly cringe at her words, and revising his opinion of her, Ash cut in. "And who might you be?"

She smirked at Ash, and said. "I'm the top student in the beginning class of the most exclusive club in the world, Pokémon Tech. It's sad that others aren't blessed with my beauty, my talent, my humble attitude. People call me a star, but I'm just Giselle."

"Full of yourself, aren't you?" snorted Ash.

"And who do you think you are? You have a Pikachu on your shoulder instead of his pokeball. Maybe you don't know how to train your pokemon. It happens. After all, you're just a beginner."

An eyebrow rose in response to her mocking. While he would have shouted back at her in the past, Ash had grown up now. "You should not judge a person by what you see. If I did that, I would say that you are nothing but a spoilt brat who was too much of a coward to go on a pokemon journey like most trainers. Instead, you decided to take the easy way out and came here."

Ash would not be intimidated by her beauty. He had seen and interacted with more beautiful woman before. (The Waterflower sisters came to mind. They were in their bikinis as well!) Giselle's cheeks puffed out at Ash's words, as she angrily replied. "I did not coward out! This Institute is much better than going on any journey. Why don't you let me show you, or are you too much of a coward to accept my challenge?"

Ash smirked at getting what he wanted. He had not had any good battles since the second gym and he was itching for a fight. "Sure, bring it on. Let's see how the top student of the beginning class does. This Institute looks useless to me so far, let's see if you change that."

"Oh, I will. Go, Graveler!"

"Eevee, you up for another battle?"

She yipped in response and bounded forward excitedly. She could sense that the Graveler was much more powerful than the Weepinbell. And she had been itching to fight a rock-type pokemon since Ash had not chosen her to battle Brock in the first gym.

"Rollout!" Giselle exclaimed.

"Knock it into the sky! Iron Tail!" Ash countered. He had experience on how to deal with rock-type pokemon using Rollout by now. He knew that while Iron Tail would overpower the Rollout attack as of now, it would not do much damage to the Rock Pokemon. Eevee's tail glowed silver as she smacked her opponent into the sky, using an Iron Tail at full power.

"Graveler!" Gisele shouted in shock, not anticipating that counter.

"Shadow Ball!" Ash exclaimed. The Graveler was a sitting duck in the air and could only cry out in pain as the ghostly attack slammed into its middle. The explosion caused Graveler to fall down where it formed a small crater due to the force of the fall. Remarkably, it struggled to get up. Ash thought the battle was done then and there.

"Finish it, Eevee." She yipped in agreement as she once again phased into Quick Attack and used the momentum generated to smash another glowing tail into the wounded Graveler. This time, the Graveler was down for good as it fell back with swirls in its eyes.

"Great job, Eevee! Looks like all the work we put into learning Shadow Ball is finally paying off. You almost knocked out the Graveler with one hit! We'll have to experiment a bit more in other battles before finalizing the power expenditure needed."

" **Vee! Eevee!** " she yipped in return as she settled into Ash's arms again. She really liked being treated as a princess as she got Ash to pet her whenever she could. Looking at Pikachu, she showed her tongue to him making Pikachu roll his eyes in response.

"How?" Ash barely heard Gisele's soft question. It looked like she too was suffering from shock. "How did you beat me so easily? Graveler couldn't even touch your Eevee. Are you sure that you have only two gym badges? You can't be this strong and have only two badges!" she was sounding hysterical in the end.

"Yes, I have only two badges," Ash replied. "In fact, I won my second badge almost a week ago. And I can assure you that it was a hard-fought battle. To be completely blunt with you, your Graveler would have struggled to even beat Brock's pokemon if you were challenging him for your first gym badge. You may claim to be a powerful trainer and the best here, but in the real world, you would not last long with the attitude you have."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked. She looked bemused by Ash's words and Ash suddenly realised that this is probably the first time someone is speaking to her like this, so he decided to help her out. She reminded him of Gary, but she had a chance to change. Her arrogance came from being the best in the Institute and she just didn't know better.

"Well, you're cocky for one. Even powerful trainers like Misty and Brock, who are some of the best trainers in Kanto, do not have your arrogance. Second, if any wild pokemon attacked, you would lose. Did you really think that your opponent would just stand in one place and take your attack like it was in the simulator? This Institute will not prepare you for the League, it is just giving you people false hope."

"Is that so?" she grimaced. "I'm sorry if I came across as that arrogant to you. Everyone here praises me and looks to me to get stuff done and it's gotten to my head. Considering the ease with which you beat Graveler, I'm inclined to agree with you. Are there any other tips that you can give me?"

Ash stared at her for a few seconds, but she stared back determinedly. Accepting that she was being serious about learning from him and that she genuinely didn't know that she was being condescending, Ash decided to answer truthfully. "The most important part of being a trainer is the bonds you make with your pokemon." Here, he softly stroked both Eevee's and Pikachu's furs and continued. "Earlier, you said that I can't even control my pokemon enough to put him back in his pokeball. What you don't realise is that Pikachu doesn't want to be in his pokeball. In fact, he hates it. Which is why I don't force him to go back in. Pokemon are living creatures, they have their own thoughts and feelings as well. If you don't accept that and just treat them as pets that you use to battle, you'll never get far as a trainer. I consider each of my pokemon as my family. You should too."

Gisele ruminated over his words and then nodded her head in agreement. "I never realised that. Here in the Institute, while the pokemon are not treated badly, they are not shown the affection you have for your pokemon. Is there really a connection between the bond a pokemon has with its trainer and its power?"

"There is. Professor Sycamore from Kalos is supposed to be studying it. But it is a widely accepted fact, Gisele. Ask any gym leader, any Elite Four member, or any professor. They would all tell you the same."

"You have given me a lot to think about, Ash." Gisele had a troubled look on her face. Ash didn't blame her. He had just come and showed her that all her beliefs were false. "I don't really know what to do."

"You don't need to decide so early. You've had a major shock today. Think it over and then decide. That goes for you as well, Joe. I can see that you want to leave the Institute and start your own journey. Don't make any hasty decisions that you'll regret later."

"I will, Ash. Thank you for everything you have done," replied Joe.

"Yes, thank you Ash." Gisele smiled softly at the boy. "You've helped us a lot."

Ash's response was cut off by his stomach which decided that this would be an appropriate time to make a sound that resembled the mating call of a whale. Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he remembered that he had wandered into the forest in search of wood to make a fire to eat.

"Hehe, sorry about that. I was really hungry when I bumped into Joe and haven't eaten anything since then."

Ash's embarrassment deepened as he heard Joe's boisterous laugh and Gisele's amused giggles. He glared at Pikachu and Eevee, who had joined them in laughing. "Traitors!" he mock-scowled.

"You can have lunch here if you want," offered Gisele as she got her giggles under control. "Your pokemon need to be fed as well," she giggled again as Pikachu's and Eevee's stomachs rumbled out loud.

"I would love to," Ash accepted with a smile, and then smirked at Pikachu and Eevee who glared back in reponse. Over the bratty behaviour, Gisele was a nice girl once you get to know her. It helped that she was really pretty as well, Ash thought with a slight blush, which he hoped was unseen by anyone else.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

After a pleasing lunch with Gisele, Ash resumed his journey, once again releasing all his pokemon. A couple of days rolled by in a similar fashion to before. Pikachu was getting closer to mastering Thunderbolt to his satisfaction as his tally of continuous bolts rose to seven. The number of clones Floette could make of herself increased, but still not close to the copies Pikachu could make of himself. Eevee improved the number of star-shaped rays she could shoot and Dratini's Water Pulse was looking very similar to Misty's Starmie's attack, showing that he should master the move either today or tomorrow. And Abra was….sleeping soundly on Ash's back as the trainer oversaw his pokemon's training session. In short, a normal day for Ash and his pokemon, or so he thought. Little did he know that the day was going to take a turn for the worse very soon.

"Great job, everyone!" Ash praised his pokemon after another tough but short workout session, the ones they had every hour or so these days. They continued their journey with Dratini and Eevee talking to each other. Ash had no idea what they were talking about, but it must be important as they were completely engrossed in the discussion.

Floette seemed to have picked up the mischievous nature of Abra as she was using her vines to annoy Pikachu. Ash snickered as she picked Pikachu up and dropped him in a puddle. Pikachu sent an annoyed glare at the fairy pokemon and he retaliated with a mild shock in return. Floette was quick to twirl out of the way and went over to Eevee and Dratini to bother them. Pikachu shook himself like a dog and trotted beside his trainer.

The peaceful atmosphere was broken by the leaves of a nearby bush rustling. All of Ash's pokemon immediately became wary as they stared at the bush with guarded expressions. Their expressions remained the same as a Bulbasaur came crashing out of a bush. Ash's internal celebration at the prospect of finding a wild Bulbasaur were cut short when he saw the condition the Bulbasaur was in. Bile crept up Ash's throat as he stared at the injuries on the Bulbasaur. Bruises littered its body and there were burn marks all over as well. The bulb on Bulbasaur's back was half burnt off and he saw that there were cuts all over as well, making it bleed.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he asked aghast. His pokemon all surrounded the Bulbasaur trying to comfort it. Ash immediately reached for the medicines he had stored in his bag as he removed one of everything. He had no idea what to do to help the Bulbasaur, its injuries were too vast for a trainer to deal with. What the Bulbasaur needed was a certified pokemon doctor. As he took out an empty pokeball to put the poor pokemon in stasis so that he could rush it back to the pokemon centre, it started speaking to his pokemon rapidly.

As Ash approached it rapidly to tell it to not speak to conserve energy, he was surprised to see all his pokemon telling him to back off. He tried to tell them that he was going to catch the Bulbasaur to help it, but his pokemon refused to listen! His frustration was cut off as Ash got the now common feeling of Abra touching his mind.

" _Trainer. Bulbasaur village. Lots pokemon. Heal. Girl doctor. Men black. R. Attack village. Hurt. Steal. Force. Girl. Help."_ Abra also sent along some images to Ash to better help him understand.

This was the longest that Abra had ever spoken to Ash. Due to the disjointed English, and having never communicated through images before, it took Ash a couple of seconds to understand what Abra was trying to tell him. His blood boiled and he was about to rush in. Looking at his pokemon, they felt the same. However, a sudden onrush of memories stopped him. Flabebe screaming in pain as a pink blur attacked her. A bruised Pikachu getting smashed by a Hyper Beam. Excruciating pain in his neck where the Crobat bit him. He remembered the consequences of rushing in and had learnt from his mistake.

He took out his PokeNav and dialled a number. "Come on, come on! Pick up the phone! Pick up the Arceus damned phone!" Ash muttered as the phone kept ringing.

"Ash?" A familiar voice said. "I didn't expect you to call me so soon. Did your Dratini evolve? Do you need any help with her?" the voice boomed. Ash had called the Champion of the Kanto and Johto regions. Lance had put his number in Ash's pokenav himself, and this was the first time Ash used it. He was too shy to call Lance before but the circumstances now said otherwise.

"Lance!" Ash shouted out loud. "Thank Arceus you picked up. Listen, there's an emergency!"

Ash didn't know if it was the panic in his voice that convinced Lance or if he was just good at reading situations as his jovial expression immediately turned serious. Gone was the man who was a sort-of friend of Ash's. In his place was the Champion, the most powerful trainer in Kanto and one of the most powerful trainers in the world.

"I'm listening, Ash. Tell me everything from the beginning.'

And Ash did. "I'm on route 25 currently, exploring the area. The journey was interrupted by a Bulbasaur that came across my path. I've never seen a pokemon this badly injured before! Here, take a look!" At this, Ash tilted the PokeNav so that Lance could see the Bulbasaur.

"I can see why you called me, Ash. The Bulbasaur needs a doctor, pronto! Just send me the coordinates of where you are, I'll send someone immediately!"

"Wait!" Ash shouted in panic, thinking that Lance was going to cut the call. "I was going to catch the Bulbasaur to put it in stasis till it reached a pokemon centre, but my pokemon stopped me after listening to what the Bulbasaur had to say! I captured an Abra recently and while he cannot talk fluently through telepathy, he conveyed what the Bulbasaur wanted to tell me!"

"What is it, Ash? The Bulbasaur needs help right now, can it wait till it is healed?"

"NO! The Bulbasaur is a part of some village here where a girl heals wild pokemon! There are a lot of wild pokemon there, it's like a paradise for them. Team Rocket found out about the place and attacked! A lot of the wild pokemon were hurt and were being kidnapped. Bulbasaur got so badly injured trying to help the doctor. The Team Rocket members were trying to ra….they were trying to raaa…" Ash tried to say the word, but was choking up, unable to talk further.

"ENOUGH!" Lance boomed. Ash looked over at the Champion and had to take a step back in fear. The dragon master was radiating fury, the likes of which Ash had never seen before. His eyes were hard as steel and they glowed slightly, reminding Ash of the time Dratini was angry in Mt. Moon. "Send me your coordinates now. Try to help the Bulbasaur as much as you can till then!" with that, Lance cut the call.

Ash wasted no time in sending Lance the coordinates of his location. He then shut his PokeNav and approached the Bulbasaur, who was barely conscious at this point. Hating himself for adding to its pain, Ash sprayed a Full Heal, a Revive, and a few potions on it. The Bulbasaur whimpered as its wounds stung, but Ash persisted. He missed a wound completely and realised that his hand was shaking. Using extreme willpower, Ash got himself under control and continued his treatment.

So lost in his thoughts was Ash that he jumped a foot in the air when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lance and a legion of Ace Trainers behind him. He realised that he recognised someone else as Agatha strode towards the two of them. Ash involuntarily took a step back at the aura she was emitting.

"Ash! Ash! Ash!" he was jerked out of his reverie as he realised that Lance was speaking to him. "Give Bulbasaur to them," he pointed at two Nurse Joys who were also a part of the group.

"Bulbasaur," the champion continued. "We're here to help your trainer. Rest now. Know that she will be in safe hands." He spoke gently.

" **Saur! Bulba, Bulbasaur!** " Bulbasaur said weakly as it shook its head.

" _Wants. Stay. Trainer. Direct you. Other injured."_ Abra translated in Ash's mind.

"The Bulbasaur is saying that it will not leave its trainer's side. It will show us where the village is. There are other pokemon who would need Nurse Joy's help as well," Ash spoke for the first time in a while and realised that his voice was shaking. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and rubbed its paws on Ash's cheeks. It was then that Ash realised that he was crying.

"Okay, give it to us. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we'll be able to heal it. You stay here." Lance spoke as he realised the futility of trying to convince the Bulbasaur to do otherwise. Its loyalty to its trainer was amazing. _And why wouldn't it be?_ Lance mused to himself. _If what the Bulbasaur says is true, its trainer heals wild pokemon for a living. What an amazing person._

Lance was taken out of his thoughts by the glares being directed at him by Ash and his pokemon. Even the Abra, whose eyes were normally closed, was glaring at him. "Okay, fine. Come along. But you will stay at the back. No fighting here, leave that to us. Do you understand?"

"But what if you guys need help?" Ash tried to argue.

Their conversation was interrupted as Agatha spoke for the first time. "Kid, do you really think that you will be able to help if Lance and I are struggling? No offense, but you have been a trainer for two months. Regardless, we won't need your help. Of that, I can personally assure you." As she finished, the ominous aura surrounding her increased tenfold and Ash was not the only one who took a step or ten back in fear. He gulped and nodded.

Now that the conversation was over, they left for the village. Abra translated Bulbasaur's directions and Ash told them to the group as they ran to the village. The two Nurse Joys ran alongside Ash doing their best to heal the Bulbasaur. They just hoped that they would make it there in time.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash was feeling numb. His pokemon were surrounding him and they all looked depressed. Normally, Ash would be doing his best to comfort them, but he himself had no idea what to say. He was staring at the object of their depression in shock. He still could not believe what happened.

Ash's shock slowly went away. The numbness left him as well. They were replaced by a myriad of emotions. Anger was the first as it crept through his body. It burned hot swallowing Ash as he was forced to release some of it as he punched the ground hard. Repeatedly. He paid no mind to his bleeding hand as he continued to punch the ground in anger.

Soon, that left him as well and it was replaced by pain. Not physical pain from the injuries on his hand, but emotional pain. It felt like a hand had crept inside him and started squeezing his innards. He felt choked. He started heaving as he felt like enough oxygen was not getting inside his body.

The anger returned. This time, it had found its cause. Himself. Guilt immediately crept in as well, combining with his anger, leaving him with pulling at his hair. These feelings peaked as questions burned Ash's mind. _Why? Why did this happen? Wasn't he strong enough? Why did he have to wait for Lance and the others? Why didn't he rush in himself? If he did, would the outcome have changed? After all the lectures he gave Joe and Gisele, was he the trainer who was absolutely useless?_ A fist made its way to the ground as he buried it into the ground with full power, the self-loathing becoming too much.

' _I'll become a Pokemon Master!' A seven-year-old version of himself told his mother._

He snorted. Master? He wasn't even fit to call himself a trainer.

' _Professor! This Pidgey is injured. Can you heal it?' asked a four-year-old Ash._

' _Where did you find it, Ash? Anyway, it's hardly injured. It will be okay after a night's rest,' replied Professor Oak._

' _Are you sure? It's in pain. Can't you take it away?'_

' _I'm sure, Ash. You really care about pokemon, don't you?'_

' _Of course, Professor! I won't let a pokemon remain injured as long as I can help it!' he finished cheerfully._

His fist slammed into the ground again as the memory from ten years ago came to the surface of his mind.

' _I'll make sure this never happens again. I'll never be helpless in the face of Team Rocket!' a thirteen-year-old Ash said as he laid on a hospital bed in the pokemon centre at the base of Mt. Moon._

The fists kept punching the ground again as Ash thought of another promise he had broken. The motion stopped as the self-loathing was replaced by grief. He shouted out loud in pain and anger, unable to cope with his inner turmoil. He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a massive hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lance staring at him, his anger at the situation clearly visible on his face. A Dragonite stood next to him, the same anger reflected in its eyes.

The Dragonite lumbered over to Ash's pokemon as Lance sat down next to him. "Let it out, Ash. Let it all out," he said.

"What?" Ash asked weakly, not understanding what Lance was saying, his mind muddled. He was once again startled by the keening of the Dragonite. The grief in its voice stirred something in Ash as he remembered what had happened when they reached the village.

FLASHBACK

 _The village was full of Team Rocket members laughing while kicking and abusing the beaten pokemon. Some of them were torturing them with Tasers and lighters, enjoying the cries of pain from the wild pokemon. One of them had resorted to taking a metal rod and beating an Oddish with it repeatedly as it rolled around trying to avoid more pain. One of them was doing the same to a Ponyta, but was using his belt. Ash felt a surge of anger as he saw one of them take numerous Magikarp, Goldeen, and other water-type pokemon and hold them in the air. When they started flailing due to lack of oxygen, they put them back in water only to repeat the same a few seconds later._

 _Another member was also using a belt, but he was not using it to whip a pokemon. Instead, he was using it to choke a Ratata. He would continue till the Ratata had fallen into unconsciousness only to shock it awake and repeat. A Rhyhorn was tied up by the vines of a couple of Weepinbell that belonged to Team Rocket. Once immobilised, one of the members had taken a chainsaw and was slowly cutting off the Rhyhorn's leg. In the middle of it all were a bunch of Team Rocket members who were surrounding a woman. They were taking turns at her and the sick bastards weren't even letting her enjoy the bliss of unconsciousness as they kept her awake by repeated kicks and shocks while they continued to pleasure themselves. Her screams rung in their ears, haunting them._

 _All this was observed by the group of Elite Four members, the Ace Trainers, and Ash as they stared at the scene in muted shock. They were brought back to the present by Bulbasaur who had probably already seen this before it escaped to get help. A feeling of immense hatred and anger rose in Ash as he shouted in anger. He realised that he wasn't the only one. Everyone took out their pokemon to deal with Team Rocket, but none were quicker than Agatha. The aura surrounding her darkened and multiple Gengar rose from her shadow and struck. It was a massacre after that. Ash wasn't sure if they left them alive and to be honest, he wasn't sure if he cared._

 _The Bulbasaur leapt out of Ash's hands and trotted to its trainer. On seeing her free, it rested down and closed its eyes, satisfied. Its eyes never opened again._

END FLASHBACK

The moment replayed in Ash's mind. The pain, the suffering of the pokemon. The cries of anguish of the woman. The death of the brave Bulbasaur who did everything it could to save its trainer before passing away. And he broke down. He cried and he cried and he cried like never before. The sobbing turned into a wail as Ash let his grief be known to the heavens. He felt something fall on his lap and turned to see Abra there. Tears flowed down his cheeks as well and he suddenly wrapped his arms around Ash and continued crying. Slowly, the rest of his pokemon also joined him as the six of them shared their grief together.

Time seemed to have no meaning for them as they continued to cry. When they finally stopped, Ash felt slightly lighter. He turned to see Lance still sitting there, some grief showing in his eyes as well. They still burned with the fury of a dragon, though. And Ash understood that anger.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that today, Ash. You are much too young to witness such horror." He commented heavily.

"Judging by your expression, you have seen this before," Ash observed. His voice cracked midway through the sentence and was thick with emotion.

The grimace on Lance's face was answer enough. "Yes. This is what Team Rocket is capable of. They are nothing but a bunch of thugs who revel in the pain of others."

"I thought I knew," commented Ash. "I thought I knew what Team Rocket was capable of when I saw them at Mt. Moon. I thought I was prepared. But that was nothing. This was…This was…" Ash struggled to voice his thoughts on the violence he had witnessed.

"I know, Ash. I know." Lance sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, I came here to tell you to not feel depressed by the Bulbasaur's death."

"What?!" Ash shouted furiously. "How can you say that?!"

"That Bulbasaur," Lance commented, his voice calm in the face of Ash's anger, "got so badly injured trying to save his trainer and the rest of the pokemon in the village. From what I've gathered from Melanie, who was the doctor of this village, Bulbasaur took the role of the protector of this village. And he fought tooth and nail to defend it. Injuries which would have killed a normal Bulbasaur only caused this one to run away to get help. While it could have accepted treatment, it refused to do so till the village was saved. He used every ounce of his energy to bring us to them, and only after we saved the village did he give in to his wounds. Such a pokemon deserves to be saluted, Ash. When you think of it, do so in pride at the spirit of the pokemon and its will to save those precious to it. It doesn't deserve to be thought of in sorrow. Instead, think of it with honour. Because that was one heck of a Bulbasaur! One any trainer would have been proud of having in their team!" Lance finished with pride in his voice.

Ash wiped the tears from his eyes that fell at Lance's words. "You're right. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, kid. And I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn't called me when you did, who knows what would have happened to them. You're a hero today, Ash. Tell me what you want as a reward and you'll get it."

"Hero?" snorted Ash. "How can you call me a hero? If I was a hero, the Bulbasaur would never have died! If I was a hero, I would have reached here sooner and not waited for you guys! If I was a hero," any further comments from Ash were cut off by a hand bopping him on his head.

"You did the right thing, Ash. Those Team Rocket members were too powerful for you. If you had rushed in, you would have lost. And it would be your pokemon that Team Rocket were abusing! Did you think of that?"

"No," Ash mumbled shamefully. "But," he continued as he regained a second wind. "If the Bulbasaur could have survived! If only I was strong enough! I promised myself that I would never feel this helpless against Team Rocket again. Look where it got me! Barely two weeks later, and I'm as useless as before!"

"ASH!" shouted Lance, cutting off his rambling. "What do you know about the Bulbasaur species?" At Ash's confused look, Lance elaborated. "The bulb on its back is its lifeline. It's like the flame at the tip of a Charmander's tail. If the bulb is destroyed, the Bulbasaur dies. The Bulbasaur you found was alive at that point through sheer willpower to help his trainer and the rest of its pokemon. I wasn't kidding when I said that any other Bulbasaur would have died of its injuries long ago! So don't think that the Bulbasaur's death is your fault. It is Team Rocket's fault and no one else's. Do you understand?!"

As Ash nodded, unable to deny the logic behind Lance's words, Lance continued. "As for not being powerful enough, you do realise that you're two months into your journey? Dealing with Team Rocket is my responsibility, Ash. Not yours. Don't let this control you, Ash. Don't do something stupid the next time you run into Team Rocket. Train, get stronger. If you really want to take on Team Rocket and get vengeance, do so. Arceus knows I can't deny you the right to do so after what you saw today. But, call me when you do so again. You are nowhere close to being strong enough to do so on your own. And I'm sorry to do this, but I have to make sure you'll listen to me. Every time you see Team Rocket, imagine them doing what they were doing today to your pokemon. If that doesn't stop you from charging in blindly, nothing will. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lance." Ash sighed in response. "I understand."

Lance ruffled Ash's hair in response. "Good. Remember, if you need anyone to talk to, you can always call me. Now, about that reward," Lance smirked.

Ash gave a small smile as Lance's words. "Thanks, Lance. And I can't accept a reward today, Lance. It doesn't feel right."

"As you wish, kid. Can't say I'm surprised at your decision."

"How are Melanie and the rest of the pokemon? What will happen to them now?" questioned Ash.

"Melanie is….she's not good." Lance sighed heavily. "She'll take a long time to recover. Her physical wounds are well on their way to being healed, but her mental ones are a different matter altogether. Most of the pokemon are fine physically. They'll heal in a few days. The poor Rhyhorn's leg will have to be amputated." Ash could see Lance's hands had clenched into a fist and it was shaking in barely suppressed anger. "All the pokemon will be sent to a rehab facility. Melanie will be sent to a mind healer as soon as possible. Best not to let such wounds fester. After she has sufficiently recovered, we'll employ her. She can take care of as many wild pokemon as she wants. This time, she'll have our protection!" Lance vowed.

"Good." Ash sighed to himself. It had been an exhausting day. All the emotional baggage was wearing Ash down mentally. Lance saw this, and commented. "Get some rest, Ash. You need it. I'll go oversee the transfer of these pokemon to the rehab facility and then go back to the League. See you later, Ash. And remember, call me if you need anything."

Ash watched as Lance got up and walked over to where the rest of the Ace Trainers were, his Dragonite following him. He turned to his pokemon, and said, "Long day, huh. Let's get some rest." His pokemon all nodded in agreement as they surrounded Ash and lay down together to sleep, once again sharing their grief. The last thing that Ash saw before sleep took him was the epitaph etched on a stone.

 _Here lies Bulbasaur_

 _Loyal Comrade_

 _Fierce Protector_

 _Brave Warrior_

 _He who kept fighting till the end to save his precious people_

 _May Arceus grant him peace_

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Early next morning, Ash woke up along with his pokemon to see an empty village. The Pokemon League trainers had sent the pokemon to the rehab centre, and Melanie had been sent to the mind healer. Looking around, Ash appreciated the beauty of the village for the first time. Lush green grass, trees surrounding the area, a large and clean lake, it really was a great place for wild pokemon.

Looking at his pokemon while eating breakfast, he could see that all of them were still upset. Not that Ash could blame them, he still thought he might break down and cry at any time. The mood was subdued as they ate their breakfast, each lost in their own thoughts. Once Ash washed the utensils, he packed his bag and made a move back towards the main road, his pokemon surrounding him, Abra once again comfortably nestled on his back.

They stood around Bulbasaur's grave, heads bowed as they paid their last respects to him. Once done, they resumed their journey. Again, they stopped as they reached the main route. They looked at the place where the Bulbasaur had come from and created such an impact on their lives. Ash sighed and told his team to keep moving. However, as they were leaving, Ash was stopped by Eevee, who started sniffing the air and walked towards a stone. Once she stopped in front of it, she sniffed it again and started yipping at Ash. Confused, he walked towards it, and asked, "What is it, Eevee?"

She just held her out her paw as she pointed at the stone. Bemused, Ash stared at it. It looked like an ordinary rock. Grey in colour, barely nine inches long. He could not make out what Eevee wanted to say. His confusion rose as the rest of his pokemon went to the stone and they all showed similar reactions to Eevee. They all looked pointedly at Ash as they pointed at the stone.

"What?" Ash asked. He, honestly, had no idea what was going on anymore. Further confusion was stopped, as Abra sent a telepathic word into Ash's mind.

' _Egg'_

That one word sent a jolt up Ash's spine as his mind reeled with the consequences of this discovery. What were the chances of finding a pokemon egg abandoned over here? Of course, there was the possibility of it not being abandoned either.

"Where are its parents?" Ash asked hesitantly.

The mood of his group seemed to drop even more as Abra spoke _'Gone.'_

"What do we do now?"

" **Pika, Pika**."

' _Take it,'_ came the immediate translation from Abra.

"Are you sure? I don't know the first thing about taking care of it! And the League doesn't allow anyone with less than four badges to have an egg!"

This time it was Dratini who started speaking with Ash. Again, Abra provided the translation.

' _Parents hurt. It comes for egg. Can't leave.'_

Ash grimaced at what Abra was saying. Dratini had a point. What if its parents were injured and whoever did it came for the egg? He made a decision and told his team to be on guard as he makes a call. He opened his PokeNav and dialled one of the first numbers his mother stored for him when she gave him the device.

The call was picked up after a couple of rings.

"Ash, my boy. How are you? What can I help you with? By Mew, what happened to you, my boy?" Professor Oak asked in askance as he took in Ash's haggard appearance.

"Hello, Professor. I'm fine, just a rough night." Ash tried to smile but even he knew it came across as a grimace. He quickly tried to change the topic. "Professor, I'm calling you because of this." He turned his camera so that the Professor could see the egg. "My pokemon are saying that it is an egg and that its parents are gone. What should I do?"

"So, your pokemon can sense the egg's parents are gone. Do they know what happened to them? It's very rare for pokemon to abandon their eggs."

"They are assuming that its parents were hurt."

"Hurt, huh? If they say that, it's not an assumption, Ash. Pokemon have very strong protective feelings towards baby pokemon, especially about eggs. They are more in tune with nature than we are as humans. If they say that the parents have been hurt, it is because the nature is telling them that. The way the wind blows, the way the grass whistles, the tales they hear from the bird pokemon in the sky. From your team, Dratini and Floette will be able to make such things out in particular. Abra too, when it becomes more mature or when it evolves."

"Then what should I do? I can't just leave the egg here."

"Hmm. Where are you calling me from?"

"I'm on route 25 right now."

"Good, good. At the end of route 25, near the sea, lives an old friend of mine. His name is Bill and he is a pokemon researcher. Take the egg to him. It won't take you more than a few days to do so, depending on how far you are from the place."

"Professor, as you are aware, I am not licensed to carry an egg."

"You have my permission, Ash." Professor Oak laughed. "And not to brag, but it does carry some weight in Kanto. Anyway, how has your journey been? It must truly be a blessing to have an Abra who can converse with you."

Ash smiled slightly. "Yes, it is."

They spent the next couple of minutes conversing, but Ash kept deflecting any questions that were too personal, something Professor Oak noticed. After realising that subtlety won't work, he decided to go for the blunt approach.

"Alright, Ash. What is wrong?" he demanded.

Ash tried to deflect it but Professor Oak would not be deterred. After a minute of resolute questioning, Ash gave in. He told the Professor everything from the Bulbasaur crashing in front of him to what he saw in the village to the Bulbasaur's death. As he spoke, he felt himself grow lighter. At the end of the tale, Professor Oak had gone pale.

"By Mew. I'm sorry, Ash. I never expected any of you to see things like this, at least not for a few years. I'm really sorry, Ash. If you ever need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks, Professor. But I already spoke to Lance about it."

"Still, if you need another pair of ears to talk to, I'm always willing."

"Thank you, Professor. I should go now. Get this egg to Bill. I'll call you when I'm near the sea to ask for directions."

"Bye, Ash."

"Goodbye, Professor." Ash quickly cut the call. The worried face of Professor Oak discomforted Ash. He quickly put his PokeNav inside and cradled the egg. Now that he knew it was an egg, Ash's feelings towards it changed. Holding it in his hands, he realized how tiny it is. He held it delicately in his arms as he started walking towards the end of route 25.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

The next two days were the worst of Ash's journey. None of his pokemon seemed up for training. The moves they should have mastered by now were the same as they were before the incident. In fact, they were so listless that they didn't even train the last day. And Ash couldn't find it in himself to motivate them either.

He spent the two days eating, travelling, sleeping. It looked like Ash had been taken away and a lookalike robot had taken his place. The only thing that kept passer-by from thinking otherwise were his actions when it came to the egg. He would polish it all day long, showering it with love and tenderness. Ash had made the realization that while he had seen a life being lost the other day, he was holding a new life in his hands. A life that had lost its parents even before it was born.

Knowing what it felt like to not have a father's love, Ash wanted the egg to at least know love, even if not from its parents. Also, even if he did not want to admit it, Ash was using the excuse of the egg to escape from reality. He didn't want to think about the Bulbasaur. He didn't want to think of the cries of the pokemon and of Melanie. He didn't want to think of the laughs of the members of Team Rocket. He was too much of a coward to face his pokemon and help them either. He knew he should, it was his responsibility as their trainer, but it was just so much easier to ignore all that.

Seeing the shore in the distance, Ash quickly called Professor Oak. The Professor frowned upon seeing Ash's condition, which seemed to have worsened in the last couple of days.

"Ash, how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Professor." Ash said with the biggest smile he could muster. It was so fake that the Professor visibly cringed at the sight of it.

"That's….good," he commented. "And your pokemon? Can I see them?"

Knowing that it was an order despite how it was framed, Ash tilted his camera to show them to the Professor. His frown deepened slightly. "Ash, have you spoken to your mother about what happened?"

"Of course not! I don't want to worry her, Professor!"

Making a decision, the professor ignored Ash's statement. Instead, he asked. "So, why did you call me?"

Ash tilted the device to show the professor the seashore in the distance. "I've reached the end of route 25. How do I find Bill?"

"Walk towards the shore. You'll see a narrow lane on the left side of the road a mile or so before the shore. Follow the path to reach his house."

"Alright, will do. Thanks, Professor. I'll see you later."

"No problem, Ash. And I'm sorry." With that, the screen went blank. Ash frowned at the Professor's last words. Thinking them to be condolences for his experience, Ash ignored them. "Come on guys, let's go." He started walking towards the shore while keeping an eye out for the small lane that would lead him to Bill's house.

Five minutes later, he was interrupted by the sound of his PokeNav ringing. Frowning as he saw his mother calling him, Ash tried to put on his best smile as he picked up the call.

"Hey, mum. I'm sorry, but this is a bad time. Can you call later?" he said, wanting to finish this conversation as soon as possible.

"I'm afraid not, Ash." Delia's voice was stern and worried. "I get a call from Professor Oak saying that I need to talk to you. He says that neither you nor your pokemon are looking healthy. And looking at you, I can easily see that. And drop that smile, mister! You're not fooling me with it. Now, tell me. What's wrong?"

Ash tried to deny it. He really didn't want to worry his mother. But, hearing her worried voice, something broke inside Ash as he started crying. All his emotions, which he had been ignoring for the last two days, came back with a vengeance as he let it all out. A few seconds later, Ash felt something on his lap and looked down to see Eevee staring at him with sorrowful eyes. Pikachu climbed up his shoulder, Abra got onto his back, Floette came and hugged him from the front, and Dratini wrapped itself around his neck. And Ash just sobbed. He sobbed because of the cruelty of the world. He sobbed for the lives lost, the pokemon injured, the lives ruined. He sobbed for his lost innocence. Soon, his pokemon joined him as they shared their sorrow for the second time in two days. All this time, Delia just consoled him, wishing with all her heart that she could wrap her baby in her arms and never let go.

After Ash calmed down slightly, he started speaking. He told her everything, including what Lance told him. A good half hour passed as Ash finished his tale. At the end of the tale, even Delia had tear tracks running down her cheeks. "Oh, Ashy. I want you to come back home. I want you within my sight, where you can be safe and sound. But I'm going to tell you to carry on with your journey. Ash, you've got an adventurous spirit. You want to explore the world as you work towards your dream to become a pokemon master.

So, I will ask you this. Why are you ruining Bulbasaur's memory?" As Ash stared at her in shock, she continued relentlessly. "Why are you letting your pokemon do the same? Remember what Lance said? That Bulbasaur does not deserve to be thought of in sorrow. That Bulbasaur was a warrior. Is this how you honour his spirit? By moping around? Not taking care of yourself? Not taking care of your pokemon either? That Bulbasaur had the same drive to be the strongest as you. Honour him by achieving your dream! Honour him by not letting what happened to the village happen to anyone else! Now, stop this brooding. Next time you call me, which better be tomorrow, I want my baby boy back. You understand me?"

"Yes, mum." Ash smiled his first genuine smile in a while. She may have repeated the same words Lance used, but they had a more profound effect on Ash. Growing up with only his mother had made Ash a mamma's boy. And when she gave him advice, he listened. After all, she had already made such an impact on his dream. She set him straight and moulded him to be able to achieve his dream.

"So," he suddenly smirked. "Does that mean you're giving me permission to attack Team Rocket?"

"Don't be silly. I know you won't attack them on your own. I raised you to be smarter than that. And I'm not stupid enough to think that you'll ignore Team Rocket if you come across them. If Mt. Moon didn't make sure of that, this definitely did. All I ask is for you to be careful. And call me if such things happen again. I don't want a call from Professor Oak telling me to call you."

"Will do. I really got to go now, mum. Thanks for the talk. I love you!"

"I love you too, sweetie. Take care now. And stop brooding!"

"I will. Bye!" Ash cut the call, his mood much better than it had been before. He looked at his pokemon and they all saw the familiar spark of determination in his eyes, the one that had been missing for the last couple of days. "I'm sorry, everyone. I should have been there for you guys, but I ignored you. I just could not make myself look at you'll. I was ignoring everything."

His pokemon called out their names as they tightened their hold on his body causing Ash to smile once again. "Mum was right. We've been dishonouring Bulbasaur's memory. From now on, no moping around. We'll train hard. We'll train till we drop. And we'll become the best. Team Rocket may be more powerful than us now, but one day, we will defeat them!" His pokemon cheered at his speech. "We will go to Bill's house now. We will help this egg. After that, we will go back towards Cerulean. We have around two weeks till we reach there. We will train so hard that we will make up for lost time! Who's with me?" Again, his pokemon cheered and with renewed determination, they set off for Bill's house.

A while later, Ash stood in front of a nice looking cottage near the sea. It was one story tall, the walls were a cool blue colour. Big windows were visible on the walls, allowing the sea breeze to flow in. Ash knocked on the door waiting patiently for Bill to open it.

He didn't have to wait long as a few seconds later, the door was opened to reveal a man who was… wearing a pokemon costume? That of an Omastar, too. The hell?

"Hello, may I help you?" the man asked.

"Uhh," Ash snapped back to reality, and said, "Hi, my name is Ash. I'm looking for Bill."

"Oh, yes. Welcome, welcome." He blustered as he stepped aside to let Ash in. "Professor Oak mentioned that you would be coming."

"Thank you," replied Ash as he stepped in. He looked around the living room to see a bit of a mess. Books were kept haphazardly, papers were flying.

"Sorry about the mess. I was busy doing some research," Bill mumbled sheepishly.

"That's okay," assured Ash. "Say, why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, this? I'm researching the Omastar line and I like to dress as the pokemon I'm researching. It helps me get into character."

"Uh huh," sweatdropped Ash. He quickly changed the topic. "Here is the egg that Professor Oak asked me to give to you." He pushed forward the egg that was in his arms for Bill to see.

"Ash, about that." Bill suddenly turned serious. "Professor Oak told me the circumstances under which you found the egg. He told me that your pokemon sensed that the egg's parents were attacked and barely 5 minutes away was the Team Rocket operation."

"Professor Oak told you about that?" Ash asked in surprise.

"Yes, and if there's one thing you and your pokemon should know," Bill replied as he glanced at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, "it's that they will get better! I can say that with certainty for I have worked at the rehab centres. All the injured pokemon will recover!"

Ash sucked in a deep breath as he took in Bill's words. "Thank you. So, what does the Team Rocket thing have to do with the egg?"

"It's simple. There's a chance that this egg is the child of one of the pokemon injured by the village."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ash asked furiously. "I could have called Lance and told him about the egg."

"And what if its parents were gravely injured? Or what if they weren't alive?" questioned Bill.

"Its parents would have recovered eventually. And only a Bulbasaur passed away in that attack!"

"That's what Lance told you."

Those 5 words hit Ash like one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts. He wet his suddenly dry lips and asked. "What do you mean by that?" His words were broken and his voice shaky as the implication of Bill's statement hit Ash.

"Bulbasaur was not the only pokemon who died that day, Ash. There were others as well. Lance didn't want to mention anything to you at that time considering your fragile state of mind."

"And you think I can take it now?" retorted Ash indignantly.

"Yes." The simple word stopped all of Ash's anger as the words died down in his mouth. Confusion took its place. "Despite your appearance, I can say that you have come to terms with Bulbasaur's death. You are recovering. Hearing about other deaths will sadden you but it won't affect you as badly as before. At least, that's the impression I'm getting from you and your Pikachu. And if there's one thing I have learnt in my career as a researcher, it's how to read the emotions of others."

"You're right," Ash admitted grudgingly. "It just increases my anger at Team Rocket and fuels my determination to not let anything like this happen again."

"You're a good kid, Ash. Now, wait here. Professor Oak and I foresaw a possible situation."

"What situation?" asked Ash as slight worry creeped into his body. Did he damage the egg by mistake?

"Give me a moment and I'll explain," shouted Bill as he went to another room. He returned a couple of moments later with a pokeball in hand. He released the pokemon inside to reveal a bipedal, canine-like pokemon whose fur was predominantly blue and black. A Lucario. Ash stared in awe at the Aura Pokemon. After all, it is said to be one of the most powerful fighting-type pokemon in existence.

"This is a Lucario," Bill explained needlessly. "I borrowed it from Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh Region for this purpose."

"Why" asked Ash, quite curious about what was going on now.

"Did you know that pokemon are able to sense their surroundings while they are in their eggs. Not usual stuff, only in extreme cases."

"As interesting as that is, what does it have to do with me?"

"If the egg does belong to a pokemon in the village, it would have sensed the pain and anguish in its surroundings, particularly of its parents. If that happens, the pokemon inside can get mentally damaged. However, if it is found quickly and nurtured again, it quickly forgets what happened in its past as it forms a bond with the person who starts nurturing it. It starts looking at this person as its new parent. Separating the egg from its new parent is even more hazardous as it will guarantee the mental instability of the pokemon caused by the trauma of losing its parents once again. If this has happened to the pokemon in that eg, I'm afraid you'll have to raise the pokemon in the egg to adulthood."

"Is there any way to see if the egg here has formed a bond with me?" asked Ash. He didn't really know how to feel. On one hand, he wanted to raise the egg on his own. On the other, he was absolutely terrified of essentially becoming a parent so soon.

"Yes, that is why the Lucario is here. She will read the aura around both you and the egg and let us know." Bill pointed at the Lucario who was sitting cross-legged and meditating. For a minute or so, everyone in the room stared at the aura-pokemon. She suddenly opened her eyes which were glowing slightly and nodded at Bill.

"Well, that's that. Congratulations, Ash. You're going to be getting to raise an egg," said Bill as he smiled excitedly at the teenager sitting across from him.

"I don't really know what to say. I have no idea how to raise an egg. I have no idea how to be a parent!" Ash was having a full-blown panic attack now.

"That's easy, Ash. Professor Oak and I will guide you till the egg hatches. That's not too hard. As for raising the pokemon, just do what you're doing with the rest of your pokemon. From what Professor Oak told me, all the pokemon you've raised so far were babies as well. Not newly hatched, but a couple of months after that. You'll be fine."

"Okay," Ash sighed. "Let's do this."

"Good. This is an incubator. Keep the egg in this throughout the day. Make sure that the egg gets plenty of sunlight. Shine the egg a couple of times a day and you should be fine. Keep the egg warm. That's all there is to it," Bill assured Ash.

Ash took the incubator from him and placed the egg in it. Once secure, he thanked Bill and got up to resume his journey. The discussion with his mother was still fresh in his mind and he wanted to get back to training as soon as possible to recover lost time. Both made pleasantries to each other and Ash soon left.

Bill thanked the Lucario for her services and recalled her. As he was going to his pokemon transport system to transfer the Lucario back to Professor Rowan, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Surprised, he went to the door and was further surprised to see a sheepish looking Ash standing at the door.

"Hey, Bill. Do you have any books that I can borrow?"

 **END CHAPTER**

 **Initially, I wanted to extend this chapter to include the battle against Surge but decided against it as the chapter was large enough as it is. Speaking of large chapters, should I keep my chapter length as it is or decrease it as in the first three chapters? Chapter 4 was my largest chapter and it got the least amount of reviews so far, so I'm wondering..**

 **Also, now that you have read this chapter, should I persist with the M rating? The violence would probably never exceed what it was in this chapter.**

 **Please let me know how you guys found this chapter. Very few battles, intense emotions, this is the first time I've written a chapter of this type so I'm quite nervous of the response.**

 **I'm ending the poll today. The winner is Froakie and by quite a margin. He has more than double the votes of second-placed Squirtle. Now, I have to think of a way of introducing a Kalos starter in Kanto. I just hope that I don't make it too unrealistic. Any ideas?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

 **A/N: Thank you for your response. I will admit to being unsure of how the last chapter will be received. Don't worry, while Team Rocket will be evil in future chapters, they won't be as bad as in the last one. I doubt I'll be writing another chapter with mentions of rape in it.**

 **I have made a decision based on the response I got in the previous chapter and by consulting a few people. This story is back to being rated as T but I have put a clear mention before chapter 5 that it, and it alone, is rated M.**

Thunder

"Imagine yourself projecting a mental barrier. A barrier so strong that it will protect you from all harm," Ash lectured Floette. Ash was on his way to Vermillion City, already on route 5. The two weeks were good for Ash and his pokemon. The constant movement and training kept them busy. It was something they needed to distract them from the events of the hidden village.

Today would be another exciting day for Ash. The joy and pride he got when one of his pokemon mastered an attack and started learning a new one was immense. And last night, Pikachu and Eevee both mastered the moves they were learning, Pikachu with Thunderbolt, and Eevee with Swift.

Dratini had mastered Water Pulse the very same day they left Bill's house. Ash had set him to learn Slam, a move in which Dratini built power in his tail to literally _slam_ his opponent. Since the move was so similar to Iron Tail, Dratini had learnt and mastered the move in a couple of days. It was a record for learning a new move! Even Water Pulse, which Dratini learnt via TM took more time to master!

Not expecting Dratini to master the attack so swiftly, Ash was unprepared when it came to directing Dratini to learn a new move. In the end, he decided to add another element for Dratini to learn, fire. He asked Dratini to learn Ember. It was probably one of the weakest fire-type attacks, but Ash was looking long-term. Ember would set the basis for Dratini to learn stronger fire-type attacks. As the saying goes, you can't learn to run if you don't know how to walk.

Ember is the first attack which Dratini had struggled to learn so far. And by that, Ash meant _struggle_. Even Iron Tail didn't perplex him so much. On paper, the move wasn't much. Dratini had to spit out a small burst of flame from his mouth. It won't even damage the opponent too much unless it was super-effective on the opponent. But Dratini was struggling. He wasn't able to generate the necessary heat to produce fire in his belly. And unlike with Thundershock where he had Pikachu to help him or Water Pulse which he learnt via TM, Dratini was alone in learning this move.

Ash didn't know to help him. He didn't know how to produce fire in his belly. That was for Dratini to learn. And Ash had faith in him. If he still struggled with the attack when they reached Vermilion, only then would Ash look for alternatives.

Floette too had mastered Double Team and Ash had set her to learn Protect. It was yet another move that would make damaging Floette difficult. Ash hoped that with Wish, Double Team, and Protect, Floette would be able to outlast any other pokemon. The only issue was that Floette was struggling to learn the move. So far, all she managed to do was form a thin shield in front of her that even Ash could punch through. Protect, at its strongest, could even take a Hyper Beam from an enraged Gyrados and still protect its user. Needless to say, Floette had a long way to go.

So here Ash was hoping that some hands-on coaching from him would help Floette make some progress in learning the move. While he generally let his pokemon figure out the best way to learn and understand the move, he thought a little impetus may help. Ash frowned as he saw the shield produced by Floette in response to his words be as flimsy as ever.

He went on to plan B. Simulating a battle scenario. "Dratini, come here!" Ash called out. As Dratini slithered over with a curious look on his face wondering why Ash disrupted his training, Ash directed him to stand opposite Floette. "Dratini, I want you to attack Floette with Dragon Rage. Considering she is a fairy-type, the move won't affect her. Floette, I want you to imagine the Dragon Rage as an attack that can knock you out in an actual battle. Try stopping it with Protect!"

After instructing them, he moved on to Pikachu and Eevee, who were lightly sparring against each other to warm up. "Hello, you two. How are you doing? All warmed up?" he asked enthusiastically. On receiving happy nods in return, he continued. "Alright, we have our third gym battle coming up when we reach Vermilion City. The gym leader uses electric-type pokemon and I am going to use the both of you. Eevee, this will be your first gym battle! How do you feel about it?"

" **Eevee!** " she bounced on her toes excitedly. " **Vee, Vee, Eevee! Eevee, Vee!** " she yipped and Ash wished Abra was close-by to translate. He looked around for his psychic pokemon and sweat-dropped when he saw him sitting under the shade of a tree reading instead of practicing Iron Tail. Ever since Ash got books from Bill, Abra has slowly become inseparable from them. While he only read a little before since Ash had to teach him the language, now he read every chance he got. He went so far as to reduce his sleeping to read, something that was hazardous to his growth!

He shook his head as he decided to tell Abra to train after he instructed Pikachu and Eevee. Turning his attention back to Eevee, he smirked. "Guessing from your reaction, you are quite eager to take part in the gym battle. Let's show them your power, Vee!"

" **Eevee!** " she nodded in return, agreeing with the thoughts of her trainer. She had to sit out of two gym battles already for she was not ready to battle. Now that she had a chance, she would return the faith Ash had in her.

Ash scratched Eevee behind her ears, exactly where she liked it getting a pleased purr from her. "Since your opponents will be electric-type pokemon, why don't we give you a move to counter them? I want you to learn Dig. Start by using paws to dig a hole in the ground."

Dig was an attack that worked as the name suggested. The pokemon dug a tunnel to the opposing pokemon through the ground to attack them from below. The ground typing of the move made it super effective against electric-type pokemon.

Once Eevee understood her instructions and moved away to practice, Ash turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, with your lightning rod ability, you will be unaffected by Surge's pokemon. However, your attacks will have very little effect on his pokemon as well. To counter this, I will teach you a couple of moves by the time we reach Vermilion City. I want you to start with Brick Break. Now, for Brick Break, the way to learn it is similar to what you did for Iron Tail. Start off with repeatedly punching the tree over there. The pokedex says that Brick Break is powerful chop that uses your internal energy to make it more powerful."

Brick Break was a fighting-type attack that could even break through protective shields like Reflect and Light Screen. And it was one of the more powerful fighting-type moves. With Pikachu's speed, Ash was sure that it would be very difficult for opposing pokemon to dodge it and Ash hoped it would make a difference in the gym battle.

Once Pikachu started his training, Ash made his way towards Abra. "Abra! What are you doing?" he asked in a cheerful manner, perhaps a tad too cheerful, something that Abra caught onto immediately.

' _Reading'_ he replied warily.

"I can see that. So, tell me. What was our deal when I gave you the books?" Ash continued, his voice still super cheerful.

' _Train. Then read,'_ Abra replied in a despondent tone.

"And this brings me back to my original question. Abra, what are you doing?" Ash lost his cheerful demeanour and gave Abra a disappointed look.

' _But no time to read!'_ replied his psychic-type pokemon. While Abra had advanced telepathically to speak simple sentences, this is the first time Ash had heard him whine.

He sighed as he sat next to the psi pokemon. "I know it's tough, Abra. You can only stay awake for a maximum of six hours in a day. Tell you what, how about we split the time between your reading and your training? This will give you an hour more to read daily."

' _Fine,'_ came the reluctant reply from Abra prompting a snort from his trainer.

"Good. Now, begin by teleporting as many times as you can till you get tired. Work on Iron Tail after that."

' _Yes, trainer,'_ was the reply as Abra teleported away.

Ash sat there under a tree as he watched his pokemon train. A small frown came on his face as he saw Floette still struggling with Protect. As of now, it looked like the experiment of having Dratini hit her with attacks was failing. Eevee was happily digging a hole in the ground. In fact, it looked like she was enjoying herself. Another snort came out of Ash as he saw Pikachu cradling his hand and rolling on the floor in pain after punching the tree wrongly. He'll learn from it, he mused.

His eyes landed on Abra who had just teleported before he disappeared again a second later. Through continuous training, Abra had reduced the time between each teleport to a second. Still not the instantaneous teleporting Ash wanted but there was improvement and Ash was happy with it. Seeing the sun had risen a little high in the sky and its heat being felt now, Ash took out the egg from his bag. He removed it from the incubator and started polishing it.

This was the most peaceful part of the day for Ash. Watching his pokemon train while he sat quietly and polished the egg lovingly. Ever since he found out that the egg had been traumatized from Bill, he started showering it with more love. It wasn't fair that the pokemon had witnessed violence already and it had not even hatched.

Not much changed for the next hour or so as Ash put the egg back in the incubator and got up to start preparing breakfast. Once ready, which didn't take too much time since all he had to do was prepare a sandwich for himself and put the pokemon food in 5 bowls for his pokemon, he called a stop to the training session.

Meal times were much more enjoyable now that Abra was a part of the team. He would often act as a translator for his pokemon allowing Ash and his pokemon to bond over meals like he had read about in stories. The conversations could be anything from how pleasant the weather was to what the pokemon were feeling about their training. They even had one emotional conversation on Team Rocket and the events at Mt. Moon and the hidden village. That was one liberating conversation as all six of them felt much lighter after it.

Once breakfast was over, Ash instructed. "Eevee, continue what you're doing. Less playing around, though," he said sternly. "You need to be able to dig a hole in the ground immediately. So work towards that. Pikachu, be more careful. Don't injure your hand so bad that you can't continue. Also, use your left hand to practice now." At Pikachu's confused look, Ash elaborated. "Yes, it will set your learning back but at the end of it, you will be able to use the move with either hand. It could surprise your opponent." Once Pikachu nodded to acknowledge the instruction, Ash moved on to his fairy-type and dragon-type pokemon. "Dratini, concentrate on learning Ember now. Floette, you're on your own for learning Protect for the next training session." Seeing all his pokemon understanding his instructions, Ash told them to begin training.

He turned to Abra who had already opened a book to start reading. "What are you reading?" he asked curiously.

' _Science,'_ came the monosyllable answer. Abra always got like this when he was reading. It was fun for Ash and the rest of his pokemon to disturb him as it always got a rise out of him. It was revenge for all the pranks Abra pulled on them in the beginning.

"What in science?"

' _Nature.'_ Again, a monosyllable answer.

"What in nature?" Ash asked with a smirk on his face on seeing the slight twitch on Abra's face at Ash's questions.

' _Rain!'_ Abra's response was slightly more forceful this time.

"What about rain?" Ash was barely able to keep his laughter inside as he questioned Abra.

Ash could see Abra visibly trying to control his irritation. _'Everything. Clouds. Evaporation, Condensation. Storms. Lightning. Thunder. Now, let me READ!'_ he shouted at his trainer. Ash sniggered as he left his psi pokemon alone. They sat in peaceful silence as Ash once again started polishing the egg. Midway through the training session, he saw Floette still struggling. Wanting to help her but not knowing how, he felt disappointment creeping in. When he met his pokemon, he promised to help them become powerful but doubt was beginning to form in his mind. First Eevee struggled with learning Shadow Ball. Now, Dratini is struggling with Ember and Floette with Protect. What kind of trainer was he if all his pokemon were struggling so much?

Unknown to Ash, Abra was picking up on his foul mood. He decided to stop his reading to comfort his trainer, a big sacrifice for him. _'Trainer,'_ he said, trying to get his attention. When Ash turned to him, the psi pokemon continued.

' _You good trainer. But too kind.'_

"What do you mean by that, Abra?" questioned Ash. Was he not supposed to be kind to his pokemon?

' _Example, the dragon. Fire hot. Fire burns. Tell dragon to imagine people who hurt hero-Bulbasaur. See if he produces flames then.'_ Commented Abra as he picked up his book again. He could multitask, right? Who cares, the book is too awesome to put down right now. He just reached a fascinating part about how the air was displaced to form clouds.

"What are you saying?!" exclaimed Ash not able to believe the words coming from the psychic pokemon.

' _Similarly, the fairy. Tell her to imagine her shield protecting her-Bulbasaur. Or any of us. Shield stronger.'_

"But that's wrong! You can't manipulate their emotions like that!"

' _You can. They understand.'_ Commented Abra offhandedly.

Ash was conflicted. Abra was right in a way. If he talked to them before telling them this, they will understand. But it was still wrong. In the end, he settled for a compromise. "I'll think about it. Let them work on their attacks on their own for now. If they still struggle, I'll talk to them about it." He decided with finality wanting the uncomfortable topic to be over. Abra just shrugged at his trainer's choice before he returned to his books. He would have done as he said. It was the logical thing to do after all.

Ash just took to polishing the egg with more vigour to try to get the conversation out of his head. A while later, he called a stop to the training session. As the rest of his pokemon cooled down, he turned to Abra once again. "Alright, buddy. Time to stop your reading. We're leaving and you need your sleep."

' _But I have just reached the interesting part!'_ he whined.

"You say that every time I tell you to stop reading. Now, come on."

' _I'll sleep lesser, just let me read!'_

"You know you can't do that Abra," Ash explained patiently. "Not sleeping is actually harmful for you."

' _Stupid base form,'_ he grumbled as he reluctantly shut his book. He had a mournful look on his face as he saw his trainer pack the books in his bag. Once Ash did so, he recalled all his pokemon back to their pokeball before Pikachu settled on Ash's shoulder and they resumed their journey.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Since route 5 was so big and it had a lot of trainers on it, the League had constructed a pokemon centre at the middle of the route. And here Ash was 10 days later, an hour or so away from the centre. They had been delayed by a day due to the vicious storm that occurred the previous day. Ash and his pokemon were safe, though. While Eevee, Floette, and Dratini preferred to stay in their pokeballs, Pikachu and Abra stayed out. Pikachu used his lightning rod ability to absorb the lightning falling from the clouds while Abra stared at the storm in fascination. When questioned by Ash, he replied that he was just reading upon storms in the science book and it was intriguing to see it live.

" **Pika, Pika!** " Pikachu's shout brought Ash out of his thoughts as he looked to where Pikachu was pointing. On recognizing what it was, Ash immediately set off on a run. There, lying down on a rock was a Charmander. It had scratches all over its body but the main thing concerning Ash was the flame on its tail. If the flame on a Charmander's tail is bright, it signifies that the Charmander is healthy. However, if the flame runs out, the Charmander dies. And if the flame on this one's tail was any indication, it wouldn't last much longer

Looking at the Charmander, Ash knew it was in no condition to talk. It would not be able to tell Ash how it got its injuries. He immediately took out an empty pokeball and tapped the Lizard pokemon on its head. Its serious condition was further signified when the pokeball did not even move an inch before it beeped to signify capture.

Knowing time was of the essence, Ash rushed towards the pokemon centre. What should have been an hour's journey was over in half that time as Ash ran all the way to the centre. Huffing and puffing, he made his way to Nurse Joy.

"Hello. Welcome to the Pokemon Centre. What seems to be the emergency, young man?" she asked politely, as all Nurse Joy do.

Ash shoved Charmander's pokeball in her hand and said, "There's no time. It's on the verge of death!"

Taken aback by the statement, Nurse Joy rushed inside with the pokeball in her hand not willing to take a chance in case the trainer was telling the truth. As Ash saw her leave, he saw a much younger Joy, who appeared to be his age, take her mother's place at the counter.

"Is there anything else we can help you with?" she asked.

"Yes, a room for the night, please." He was not going to stay the night at the pokemon centre originally but now he would have to. Not only to see how Charmander was but because Charmander was now his pokemon. The young Joy gave him a key which Ash took with a murmured thank you and left for his room. Once there, he released all his pokemon and told them what happened. As he ended the short tale by saying that they were waiting to see how the newest member of their team was doing, it finally set in Ash's mind. He now had a Charmander, one of the fiercest fire-type pokemon in the Kanto region.

Excitement coursed through Ash's body at the thought of having Charmander on his team. Immediately, his mind went to various training regimens for it which he had designed before leaving for his journey. He nearly started dancing in joy when he imagined a fierce Dragonite flying next to an equally fierce Charizard. He snapped out of his daydream as he remembered something. He looked at the rest of his pokemon and commented. "Guys, and girls," he hastily corrected at the sharp glances thrown his way from Eevee and Floette, "we don't know what happened to Charmander to make its condition so serious. So let's welcome him properly, yeah?"

On receiving affirming nods, they exited the room. Ash went to the cafeteria to eat hot food for the first time since he left Cerulean City. His pokemon were excited as well since they each liked, or for some, were obsessed with different food. Dratini and Floette ate pokemon food contently while eating different food occasionally – cheese came to Ash's mind— Pikachu gorged on ketchup, and Eevee caused the most problem for Ash. She wanted his chocolates! And anyone who knew Ash knew one thing. Ash NEVER shared chocolates with anyone. In the end, he had to buy an equal number of chocolates for Eevee as he did for himself to keep her satisfied.

Abra saw this with a bemused look on his face. He went around trying a little of what each pokemon loved so much. While he enjoyed the chocolate and the cheese, everyone laughed at his disgusted expression after trying ketchup, and the subsequent disgruntled look on Pikachu's face at Abra dissing his precious ketchup.

It was a light-hearted atmosphere around Ash as he started researching the Charmander line on his pokedex. While he was slightly worried about Charmander, he had full faith in Nurse Joy. After all, even if she was facing some trouble, she could easily call for help. Looking up to see if there was any news on his newest capture, he found further proof of his thoughts as he saw a Nurse Joy manning (or was it womanning?) the desk. All pokemon centres could call a reserve Nurse Joy in case the Nurse Joy that works at the centre is too busy.

He went to the Nurse Joy in hopes of asking about the Charmander. "Hello. Is there any news of the Charmander?"

"My sister is still operating on it," came the reply.

"Okay. Any idea how long the operation will take? Also, if it is not too much trouble, can you give the rest of my pokemon a check-up?"

"Sure. Just put their pokeballs in the tray over here. And I don't know how long the operation will take. It can take a few minutes, it can even take a few hours."

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know," Ash smiled politely. He went to his table and called back all his pokemon and put their pokeballs in the tray the Nurse Joy gave him. Once done, he went back to what he was doing before, setting up a training plan for Charmander.

Night fell and still there was no news on the Charmander. The Nurse Joy at the desk told him to go to sleep as she will call him in case he is needed. Ash reluctantly listened to her and went to his room with the rest of his pokemon who were declared in perfect health by the kind nurse.

His sleep, however, was abruptly broken by knocking at his door. He looked at the clock and saw it was just 5 minutes past 6. He groaned as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched. He gave another groan as whoever was at the door knocked again. This time louder. As Ash went to open the door, his pokemon stood wary in case their trainer was in trouble.

On opening the door, Ash was surprised to see Nurse Joy along with an Officer Jenny. "What can I do for you so early in the morning?" while Ash usually got up early in the morning to train his pokemon, he was not a morning person, not by any means.

"May we come in?" Even though it was framed as a question, Ash was sure it wasn't a request from the blue-haired Police Officer. Ash nodded his head and stood aside to let them enter. Once inside, he sat down on his bed as his pokemon crowded around him sensing something was wrong. On seeing that, Nurse Joy smiled while Officer Jenny had a small frown on her face.

"Trainer Ketchum. You gave Joy here an injured Charmander to heal. What is your history with it? How long have you been its trainer?" she asked the questions rapidly as she took out a notepad and a pen to record Ash's answers.

"Umm," Ash started, confused with the barrage of questions. "I met the Charmander on the way here. On seeing its condition, I immediately caught it to put it in stasis since I was unsure if it would survive for long with its injuries. I immediately ran here and half an hour later I gave it to Nurse Joy." He stated truthfully. "Why? What's wrong with Charmander?" he asked.

"Is there any way for me to verify what you said?" Asked Officer Jenny as she ignored Ash's question.

"You can ask Professor Oak. He should have gotten a message when I captured the Charmander."

"Alright, I'll just confirm that and tell you." With that, she left the room.

"What is going on Nurse Joy?" questioned Ash. He was a little worried now.

"The Charmander we found had all the signs of abuse, Mr. Ketchum. By the looks of it, the Charmander was abused for more than a month," she said with a rare frown on her pretty face.

"I've never abused pokemon!" Ash exclaimed indignantly.

"I had my doubts as well, Mr. Ketchum, which is why we're not following normal procedure. If we were, this interview would be taking place at the Police Station. I convinced Officer Jenny to hold it here."

"Oh. Not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"Because when my sister did a check-up on the rest of your pokemon, they were in perfect health and they were happy. Things didn't add up. So, we decided to question you here instead of embarrassing you by dragging you to a Police Station."

"Thank you, then. By the way, you didn't tell me how Charmander was." Ash was really starting to get worried now. He had noticed how both of them kept avoiding that question. Before Nurse Joy could answer, the door opened to reveal Officer Jenny.

"Your story checks out, Mr. Ketchum. I spoke to Professor Oak and he told me that you caught the Charmander yesterday afternoon. I'm sorry for questioning you like this and the inconvenience caused."

"It's alright, Officer. You were just doing your job. But I'm more worried about why you both are avoiding my question when I ask how my Charmander is doing."

Both woman looked at each other before Nurse Joy started talking. "I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Ketchum but your Charmander didn't survive the night. Its injuries were too grave for me to heal." Her voice was sorrowful and you could hear the grief in it.

"What? What do you mean by that?" Ash asked as his whole body felt numb. His pokemon leaned into him as they too felt anguish at their comrade passing before they could even know it. The two women stood in respectful silence as the teenager and his pokemon mourned the loss of their comrade.

After recovering a bit, he asked Nurse Joy with a heavy voice. "Can you tell me what happened to him?"

She sighed before answering. "While the abuse was continuous over a period of time, it wasn't fatal. From what I can say, the previous owner got fed up of the Charmander and released it. The Charmander, not knowing what to do or how to survive in the wild, got caught up in the storm and attacked by wild pokemon. The combination was enough to make the injuries fatal."

Ash looked down as he clenched his fists in anger at what the pokemon suffered. "How are you able to speculate this? It's quite precise guesswork."

"A couple of days ago, a boy by the name of Damien boasted about leaving his "useless" Charmander behind. I'm guessing this is the same Charmander."

"So are you going to arrest him now?" Ash asked angrily. "What?" he asked when he saw the two women exchange looks.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ketchum," came the reply from Officer Jenny. "There is no way for us to prove that your Charmander was the same Charmander released by Damien. And while frowned upon, there is no rule that disallows the release of captured pokemon. Also, unless Damien himself goes for a check-up of his pokemon, we can't force him to. We can't accuse him of abusing pokemon."

"So we can do nothing?" he yelled. Both women understood his anger, they felt the same way. But, laws were laws, they had to follow them. Both of them pat Ash on his shoulder consolingly as they left him alone.

Ash could not believe it. He knew there were bad people in the world, but leaving a pokemon to die was something he thought only Team Rocket did. To know that there were others was a big shock to him.

' _Trainer.'_ Abra's voice rang out in Ash's mind.

"What is it?"

' _This Damien. We will get our revenge!'_

"If we meet him, of course we will!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.

' _We will meet him.'_ Abra commented as his eyes flashed blue and Ash was now sure that he would be meeting Damien in the future. And as Abra said, they will get their revenge!

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Burying two pokemon in a week was hard for Ash. Never in a million years could he have imagined this scenario. The only difference between burying Bulbasaur and burying Charmander was the difference in emotions Ash experienced while doing it. For Bulbasaur, Ash felt gut-wrenching sorrow and guilt at his inability to help the Seed Pokemon. But, for Charmander, he knew he had done all he could to save its life. If Nurse Joy could not save it, Ash definitely could not. So, Ash didn't experience the guilt he felt when they were burying Charmander, he felt anger.

As someone who loves pokemon with all his heart, Ash had difficulty imagining a trainer abusing and then abandoning them. What this Damien had done was unforgivable and Ash swore he would get justice for the pokemon he had caught for less than half a day. It was also due to this difference in emotions that Ash did not withdraw into himself as he did when Bulbasaur passed away. Instead, life continued almost normal for Ash and his pokemon, as they all looked forward to the day they would face Damian and avenge Charmander.

A week later, they reached Saffron City which lay exactly between Cerulean City and Vermilion City. When they reached there, Ash and Pikachu could not help but gawk. It was the first time they had seen such a huge city! Huge towers as high as the eye could see were everywhere. Thousands of people roamed the streets each busy with their own work. It didn't take them long to get lost in the city. After all, Saffron City was around five times the size of Pallet Town!

It took some time for Ash to find the pokemon centre. It took so long because the people in this city were incredibly rude. Each and every one of them was so busy with their own work that none of them took the time to even point him in the right direction. The tenth or eleventh person Ash spoke to was finally kind enough to direct him here, otherwise he would still be on the streets searching around.

Sighing with relief at once more having a warm meal, Ash contemplated the events of the last few days while eating. His pokemon were arrayed around him in a circle after being declared to be in perfect health by Nurse Joy as they too were enjoying the treats that usually accompanied Pokemon Centres. It was a chore to get them to eat the normal nutritious pokemon food before they started gorging themselves on the junk food they so enjoyed.

After Charmander's burial, they had made a move towards Saffron City. The days were the same. Training in the morning, then travelling while battling pokemon trainers, followed by more training and then sleep. While slightly monotonous, it was worthwhile seeing his pokemon becoming stronger. Well, it usually was. The last week was more troublesome than the others.

While Pikachu was making progress with Brick Break and Eevee had pretty much learnt Dig - she just had to work on speed now – the others were not progressing much, if they were progressing at all. Abra was getting more and more stubborn when it came to training as he got obsessed with learning and expanding his knowledge. Meanwhile, Dratini and Floette had made no progress with the moves they were currently learning. As time progressed, Ash was gradually contemplating Abra's suggestions. Now, he made his decision. Allowing pokemon to learn the move on their own was not working. He might as well try Abra's method.

The next day found Ash outside the Saffron City Gym. He had contemplated taking the challenge now when Sabrina would have to use her weakened team but he had a gut feeling that weak team or not, she would completely annihilate him. She was not known to be one of the most powerful trainers in Kanto for no reason.

But Ash stood outside the Gym for a different reason. The first was to scope the place out for the future, to get a feel of the place. If he gets to meet Sabrina, it would allow him to try to figure out how she is as a person and as a trainer. The second, and more important reason he was here was because of Abra. It was no secret that the Abra line was studied at this gym. It was no secret either that Sabrina loved the Abra line. Ash was here to see if there he could receive any advice in raising Abra.

As soon as he released Abra outside the Gym, all three of them were startled by a distortion of air in front of them. Ahead stood a pale-skinned skinny woman. Her jet black hair rested on top of her bare shoulders. She was dressed simply in a pink spaghetti strap tank top that ended just above her belly button stretching over her well-endowed chest. The top matched perfectly with her pink tennis shoes and her vivid pink eyes. She wore minimal make-up, not that she needed it, for she was one of the most beautiful woman Ash had ever seen his life.

The blank expression she was wearing till now shifted slightly as a small smile came across her face. "Thank you, Ash Ketchum. It's rare for men to give me a heartfelt compliment." Her voice was as blank as her previous explanation causing Ash to raise his eyebrows. She was talking like he did after Bulbasaur's death.

"No, Ash Ketchum," her voice had a slightly sorrowful edge to it. "I do not talk like this because of what you are imagining. I'm sorry that you had to witness so much in such a short amount of time."

"Can all psychics read my mind this easily?" Ash questioned with a wry smirk as he remembered the psychic who took him to Fuchsia City at the beginning of his journey.

"Right now, yes. Despite the valiant effort your Abra is making to block out my telepathic probe, he is no match for me. In time, he will teach you how to defend your mind. I'm predicting your mind will be better defended when you return to Saffron City to challenge me for the Marsh Badge."

As Ash sucked in a breath on realising the meaning behind her words, she continued talking. "Yes, my name is Sabrina and I am the Saffron City Gym Leader." She gave a slight smirk and said, "Smart decision not to challenge me as you are now. You assumed right, even my weakened team would easily defeat your pokemon."

"I thought so," Ash mumbled to himself. Raising his voice slightly, he spoke to Sabrina. "I assume you know why I'm here?"

"Yes," she affirmed. She turned to Abra and appeared to begin a mental conversation with him. As they were talking, Ash thought over the strange encounter he had had with her so far. One thing struck him the most. Whenever Abra spoke with Ash, he definitely felt the psi pokemon's mental probe. On the other hand, he had no idea about Sabrina's probe right now. That too when Abra was doing his best to protect Ash's mind! Just how refined was her probe? Was it something only she could do? Or—

"Your Abra will be able to do it as well when he evolves," Sabrina's voice cut through Ash's thought process. "It is a remarkable achievement that your Abra is even able to talk as much as he can. Normally, they reach this stage when they first evolve to Kadabra. I have spoken to Abra and I can reassure you that you are doing a fine job raising it."

"I'm not doing much," Ash bashfully said. After all, it's not every day that such a powerful trainer compliments you. And that is without counting her obvious beauty. "Abra is making all the effort himself."

"Give yourself some credit, Ash Ketchum. You are a good trainer. I can already tell you that Abra is close to evolving. That much I've gathered from my brief conversation with him."

"That's fantastic news!" Ash exclaimed.

"It is. I must admit, I am looking forward to your challenge. You may just be one of the trainers to make me enjoy a battle. It's very rare nowadays."

"Not only will I challenge you, I will beat you as well! That I can promise you. I will get the Marsh Badge, just you see!"

Again, Sabrina gave a slight smile. "You just may, Ash Ketchum. For now, I believe it is time for you to resume your journey. When you return, depending on how powerful your Abra or its evolution is, I may just help train it. Impress me, Ash Ketchum."

"Then I will definitely impress you, Sabrina." He replied, completely fired up now. "You're right, I should resume my journey now. Thank you for taking the time out to see my Abra and me. Bye." Waving his hand, he set off towards route 5 with Pikachu on his shoulder and Abra teleporting onto his back.

"Ash Ketchum!" something in Sabrina's voice made Ash stop and turn around to face her. He saw her pink eyes were glowing brightly, slightly unnerving Ash. "You must be careful. Team Rocket is not done with you. Fate determines that you will encounter them a few more times in your journey. While some of them will end in happy endings for you, others will not. That much I can foresee. Train hard and be careful. You will need it."

Her piece said, she teleported back to the Gym leaving a nervous Ash behind. Gulping at her warning, he started walking to route 5. While walking, he thought about his journey so far and his eyes hardened with determination. He had already promised himself to become stronger and make Team Rocket pay. And fate was giving him a chance to do so. He will take the opportunity with both hands. Team Rocket will not know what hit them!

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

That evening, Ash found a nice clearing to make camp for the night. Pikachu, Abra, and Eevee had gone off to do their own training while Ash had kept Dratini and Floette behind. It was time to implement Abra's idea. "Alright, the same arrangement as the last time. Dratini, shoot a Dragon Rage at Floette. Floette, so far I have told you to imagine a barrier that will protect you. Now, I want you to imagine me behind you. If your Protect cannot stop the move, I'll get hurt as well. Imagine making your barrier strong enough to protect me and the rest of us. Can you do that?"

" **Flo?** " she sent a questioning look at Ash before nodding. He turned to Dratini and nodded at the dragon to send the attack as he stepped away from the two of them. Dratini nodded his head in affirmation to his orders and sent a ball of draconic energy at Floette. Ash hoped that the new approach might help Floette but the result was the same. A thin transparent shield of energy formed around her as the dragon-type attack tore through it with ease and hit her.

"Concentrate, Floette." Ash instructed calmly. The next few tries progressed the same way and Ash was left with no choice now.

"Floette!" his voice rang out through the clearing. "Please come here." The single bloom pokemon went towards Ash with a dejected look on her face as she thought she had upset her trainer again. Ash sighed at her expression. She was normally so cheerful and the disappointed look did not suit her. He put his hand on top of her head and softly stroked it lovingly.

" **Flo?** " she looked up confused at the sudden show of affection. She expected her trainer to be angry with her, not to pet her with fondness.

"I have a way to help you but you may not like it. I definitely do not like it, Flo," he murmured to her.

" **Flo, Floette,** " she wrapped her arms around Ash's neck or rather she tried to. But since her arms were so small, they were not even wider than Ash's neck. But the sentiment counted as she expressed what she wanted her trainer to do as she looked at him with fierce eyes. Behind her cheerful nature, she was a fierce warrior.

"Are you sure?" at her nod, Ash continued. "Okay then. Forget that it is the Dratini you know who is attacking you. I want you to look back on the events at Mt. Moon. Imagine it is one of Electabuzz's Thunderbolts. Or it is the Crobat that is attacking me, like it did back then. Your move can block these attacks and save me. But as it is now, those attacks will pass through your barrier and hit me. Can you strengthen it?"

He looked at Floette to gauge her reaction and he wasn't disappointed. Her expression changed from contemplative to angry to scared and settled on a steely determination. He knew that Floette was now completely motivated to master this move. She stood in front of the contemplative Dratini who was listening in on the conversation and hit him with a weak Vine Whip when he didn't attack her fast enough for her liking.

Ash smirked at that. This was one of the rare times her warrior spirit, normally buried, was coming to life. He watched with baited breath as Dratini charged another attack. Sure enough, the shield produced by Floette was much stronger than before, it had even managed to remove a bit of power from Dratini's Dragon Rage. While nowhere close to mastering it, this was significant improvement for her first try.

His smirk widened as Floette told Dratini to attack her again as she was clearly not satisfied with the results of the last round. He went to check up on his other pokemon knowing that these two would be fine. He went to Pikachu who was punching a small boulder with each hand one at a time. His hands would be engulfed in a white energy for a couple of seconds before disappearing.

"Hey, buddy. How are things going?"

Pikachu turned away from his training, his brows furrowed in concentration. " **Pika, Pika!** " he exclaimed as he raised his fists, both glowing with the same white energy for a couple of seconds.

"You're close to learning it," Ash confirmed. "Keep working. This is like Iron Tail. The more you practice, the closer you will get to learning this move. For now, concentrate on keeping the energy in your hands for longer. Once you do so, them start punching again."

When Pikachu got back to training, Ash went on towards Eevee who was happily digging a hole in the ground. What had taken her a couple of minutes a week ago was now done in a couple of seconds. Close, but not close enough. Ash wanted her to be able to dig a hole and move it instantaneously.

"Eevee, ready for the second part of your training?" When Eevee yipped in agreement, Ash stood in front of her and placed a small rock on the ground. The purpose of this exercise was for Eevee to dig a passage to her opponent and attack it from below, the rock serving the purpose of the opponent for now. They continued this for a few minutes, Ash encouraging her to get faster each time she used the attack. After that, Ash left her alone to work on her speed at digging the hole as he moved towards Abra.

Ash sweatdropped as he saw Abra reading a book instead of training. He shook his head at the psi pokemon in exasperation as he walked towards him. "Abra, again? Do you really want me to confiscate your books?"

' _NO!'_ Abra shouted immediately. Ash snorted despite himself at the anguish in Abra's voice at the thought of his books being taken away from him.

Ash sighed as he sat next to him. "Then why do you always do this?" shaking his head again, he decided to change the conversation. "I took your suggestion in training Floette and she has improved dramatically. How did you know it will work?"

' _I read in book. Stronger if protect others than himself. Fairy is like that.'_

Ash raised a brow at the advice. It was a good one. Bulbasaur exemplified that. He felt a little embarrassed that the Abra he caught a month ago was already becoming smarter than him. Of course he knew that Alakazam were supposed to have brains like a supercomputer but he didn't expect Abra to become this smart so soon. "Any other advice you have?" Ash asked jokingly.

' _Yes. Hold on.'_ Abra rummaged around for a book and once he found it, he started flipping the pages as he searched for what he wanted to show Ash. _'Here.'_ He gave the book to Ash.

As the young trainer from Pallet Town took the book, he saw that it was open to the page on storms. He read as the book described how buildings made sure that lightning didn't hit them. A metal rod is attached to the top of the building and it draws the lightning's electrical charge away. This rod is connected to wires that carry the current to the ground which neutralizes it. Once he was done reading, he looked at Abra quizzically. "Why did you want me to read this?"

' _Metal rod transfers current to ground. Our next gym battle is against electric pokemon. Iron Tail can work as the metal rod here.'_ He stated confidently as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Ash's jaw dropped as he understood what Abra was implying. If that worked… "You're a genius!" Ash exclaimed happily. He immediately called Pikachu and Eevee over to test the theory. While they may be busy training, Ash could not put off the experiment for any time. If it worked as Abra suggested it would, the entire battle against Surge would change.

"Eevee, I want you to use Iron Tail into the ground. Make sure the attack pierces the ground. Pikachu, once Eevee does that, fire the weakest Thundershock you can at her." Both pokemon give him confused looks but comply nonetheless. It took Eevee a couple of tries before she succeeded in breaking the ground. Once she did that, Ash quickly instructed.

"Good. Now, I want you to keep your Iron Tail activated. Pikachu, Thundershock." Again, both pokemon gave him confused looks before complying. A thin current made its way to Eevee who stood there as if she was not able to feel the attack. Feeling hope rising in his chest, Ash instructed once more. "Eevee, keep it going. Pikachu, use a normal Thundershock this time."

A more powerful attack made its way towards Eevee who once again stood there as if she was not able to feel it.

" **Pika, Pika?** " Pikachu looked extremely confused at Eevee's lack of reaction while Eevee also stood there wondering what was happening.

"Eevee, did the attack hurt?" Ash asked with barely concealed excitement. When she shook her head negatively, he barely restrained himself from jumping up and down. "I have just one more experiment but it may hurt you quite bad if it goes wrong,' he warned Eevee. She just yipped in return while nodding her head.

' _She's ready.'_

"Good. Eevee, keep up the Iron Tail. Pikachu, Thunderbolt." Once again, the unsure looks were directed his way before Pikachu sent a noticeably weak Thunderbolt at Eevee. Her entire body flashed yellow due to the current of the attack and once it ended, Eevee stood there without a single scratch on her.

"YES!" This time, Ash didn't contain himself as he jumped with joy and turned around to hug Abra. He must have squeezed the tiny psi pokemon too hard for he teleported away from Ash's arms and appeared a few feet away heaving for breath.

"Sorry," Ash mumbled contritely once he saw what he had done. He was broken out of his embarrassment by Pikachu urgently calling his name. he turned around and immediately felt bad at his starter's expression. Pikachu was extremely confused by what happened as he wondered how his most powerful attack failed so spectacularly.

"Sorry guys, I was just too excited. Abra here found a way for us to counter electric-type attacks. The Iron Tail attracts the electric charge from the current and directs it safely to the ground where it is nullified. From tomorrow, I want you" – he pointed at Eevee – "and Dratini to work on piercing the ground with Iron Tail at will. And I want you guys to do it while facing the opponent, not the ground. Now, get back to training."

Eevee immediately bounded off happily at having such a huge advantage against an entire typing of pokemon. Pikachu, on the other hand, slouched back to his training.

"Pikachu," Ash stopped him having kept an eye on his starter since his reaction to Eevee shrugging of his attacks. "Come here." The mouse pokemon reluctantly went to his trainer and gave no outward reaction to him scratching his favourite spot behind his ears. "You always knew that your electric attacks will not work on everyone," Ash started. "Even in the next gym, they won't work. This is why you're learning Brick Break. Even if someone else has discovered this counter, let them think they have the advantage. We will still beat them using other moves. Right?"

After thinking it over, Pikachu nodded. " **Pi, Pikachu!** " Ash smiled as the determined glint came back in his eyes. "Good, now back to training!" As Pikachu went back to training noticeably happier, Ash tuned back to Abra who surprise, surprise, was reading again.

"Time for bed, Abra. Your six hours are almost up."

' _But, but…'_ he said as he gazed at the books with forlornly. _'Five more minutes,'_ he pleaded.

Ash sighed before nodding in agreement and heading back to where Floette and Dratini were. On reaching them, he was pleasantly surprised to see Floette's latest attempt at Protect cut Dratini's Dragon Rage by half. On closer inspection, he noticed Floette looked to be dead on her feet. Numerous attempts at making the barrier must have drained her.

"That's enough. Floette, don't overdo it. Go and rest. No complaints!" Ash raised his voice at the end when he saw her opening her mouth to protest. Complying reluctantly, she went to rest near the tent Ash had set up for the night.

"Dratini, tomorrow morning, you will be taking part in an exercise with Eevee. She will explain it to you tomorrow. For now, let's work on your Ember." Dratini just cooed in response while gazing at Ash knowingly. Ash smirked as he realized that the intelligent dragon-type had already figured out what Ash was going to do.

Seeing that Dratini had already given him permission, he decided to start. "I want you to remember back at Mt. Moon when Team Rocket hurt the rest of us. Remember what Team Rocket were doing at the Hidden Village. Remember what they did to Bulbasaur. Feel the anger burning in you. Unleash that anger! Take it out at that boulder!" Ash shouted passionately.

In response, Dratini roared. The first roar he had ever heard from the gentle pokemon. if there was ever a doubt that Dratini was a dragon, it was extinguished by that roar. He sucked in a huge breath before expelling it out in a manner that Ash could never predict. A MASSIVE, an absolutely MASSIVE Dragon Rage came out of Dratini's mouth. The attack was so powerful, so destructive, that everything in its path was completely obliterated. If that was not enough, the attack continued for a good few feet, extending beyond their vision. Nearby pokemon fled in terror, bird pokemon flew away with haste at the terror Dratini unleased.

"Wow." That was the only word Ash could mutter as he stared at the destruction in awe. He turned to stare at the heaving dragon with amazement. He knew that Dratini and its evolutions grew to be one of the strongest pokemon in the world, but this was the first time he had witnessed some proof of that. As his brain started functioning again, he caught something that made him smirk.

"That was amazing, Dratini. I never knew you had this in you. You're getting more and more powerful every day. While that Dragon Rage was brilliant, it had a tint of orange in it which was fire. Now that you have produced it. I want you to concentrate on that energy and harness it. But you can do it tomorrow. You seem quite exhausted now." Ash wasn't surprised when he nodded in agreement, that attack must have taken a lot out of him.

He decided to stop Eevee's and Pikachu's training as well seeing that his other three pokemon had stopped theirs. They heeded his request, but reluctantly. Especially Pikachu. With the jolt that he got when he realised that his most powerful attack could be nullified so easily, he was more determined than ever to train. Ash wouldn't be surprised if his starter continued training once he went off to sleep.

As they made themselves comfortable, Ash called out to Abra. "Five minutes are up, Abra. Shut the books now." He felt a huge spark of annoyance from the psi pokemon.

' _This is getting too annoying! I can't take this anymore!'_ he muttered angrily.

"Abra?" Ash asked in worry.

He was cut off as Abra was enveloped in a bright white light that blinded him momentarily. Once he got his eyesight back, he stared at him in shock as his body started changing. It started lengthening as his tail also grew bigger. His legs snapped open as it allowed him to stand on his own feet for the first time in his life. The light dies down to reveal Kadabra, Abra's evolved form.

The differences with Abra were noticeable. Kadabra had a red-coloured star on his forehead. Two moustache shaped tufts of fur extended from his snout and he wobbled on his feet, unused to standing on his legs. His eyes were deep set and narrow. Ash was startled as his pokedex beeped.

 **Kadabra, the psi pokemon. Kadabra holds a silver spoon in its hand. The spoon is used to amplify the alpha waves in its brain.** **Without the spoon, the Pokémon is said to be limited to half the usual amount of its telekinetic powers. On evolving, Kadabra has learnt the move Confusion.**

' _There. Now I'm not limited to six hours of sleep!'_ he muttered joyously. His voice had changed as well, becoming smoother. The telepathic probe was still felt but Ash remembered his pokedex saying that his powers would be halved without a silver spoon, something he would have to go and buy as soon as possible. Another thing he noticed was that his sentence had become more refined, even though he had only spoken one sentence. But, Ash put all of that to the back of his mind.

"Kadabra, did you evolve just to spend more time reading?" he asked incredulously.

' _Yes.'_ He said simply. _'Now, let me read. As a Kadabra, I have to stimulate my brain even more. Read, gain knowledge and meditation should become the norm. That's what Sabrina said, thought I should warn you before you get worried.'_ With that, he teleported a few feet away and opened his book to start reading.

"Shouldn't you wait till you get accustomed to that form?" Ash asked out loud.

' _No. Now, let me read.'_ And that was the end of the conversation.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

A little over a week later Ash and Pikachu entered Vermilion City. The past week had gone by quickly as they prepared for the upcoming gym battle. Eevee and Dratini could now use Iron Tail to nullify electric attacks instantaneously. They were each successful in mastering the moves they were trying to learn, something Ash was incredibly happy about.

The first thing Ash did the morning after Abra evolved was to have Kadabra teleport him to the Saffron City pokemon centre. Once there, he was surprised to see Nurse Joy give him a package. Inside the package was a silver spoon. When questioned, Nurse Joy said that Sabrina had left it with her telling her that Ash would come and collect the package soon. Marvelling at Sabrina's powers, Ash had Kadabra teleport him back to the clearing they stayed at last night. Now, he spent his days between learning how to walk, practicing Iron Tail, honing his recently learnt Confusion, reading books and meditating. While only recently evolved, he was already showing signs of becoming a very powerful psychic pokemon.

Walking into the Pokemon Centre, Ash was surprised to see it so full. Walking to Nurse Joy, he asked her for a room as he gave her his pokemon for a quick check-up after recalling Pikachu to his pokeball. It didn't take long for Nurse Joy to declare them in perfect health. After all, they just had a mild training session in the morning and reached Vermilion a couple of hours later. As Ash clipped the pokeballs on his belt and released Pikachu, a young trainer rushed up to the counter. He had an injured Pidgey in his arms.

"Nurse Joy, can you please heal my pokemon?" he asked frantically. Rather than admonishing a trainer for getting his pokemon this injured like Ash expected her to, she just sighed and went about doing her job. Once done, Ash finally decided to satisfy his curiosity.

"Excuse me. Why is the Pokemon Centre so full? And why didn't you admonish the trainer here?"

"The S.S Anne is to take off on her maiden journey tomorrow. It's the most luxurious ship made to date. To promote it, the League has instructed Lt. Surge to give free tickets to any trainer who defeats him. All these trainers are here for that."

"And what is so special about the S.S Anne to make a trainer challenge a master of electric-type pokemon with a Pidgey?" Ash let a bit of the disgust he was feeling creep into his voice. Getting your pokemon this injured to satisfy your own desires? Even when it had no chance of winning?

"There's a pokemon tournament to be held on the ship. The free ticket is for that. Various prizes are to be won in the tournament. A lot of League officials will be there to officiate the tournament as well as scout out future potential."

"That's amazing! When's the S.S Anne leaving?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Tomorrow morning."

"What do you say Pikachu?" Ash asked his starter. "You up for the gym battle today?"

" **Pika, Pika!** " came the reply as Pikachu pumped his tiny fists excitedly. He was curious to see how he fares against other electric-type pokemon.

"Nurse Joy, can you give me a room for the night?" Ash asked. On receiving the key to his room, he made his way to the small field outside the centre. He wanted to ask his pokemon's opinion before he challenged Lt. Surge. If they were not comfortable with fighting today, he would not. The cruise could wait.

When he asked his pokemon the question, it was Kadabra who asked why he wanted to battle today. When Ash told them the reason, they all had an excited gleam in their eyes. The tournament the next day proved to be very tempting and all of Ash's pokemon agreed with challenging for the badge today.

As Ash neared the gym, he was disappointed but completely unsurprised to see a long line in front of the gym. Bored, since even Pikachu was in his pokeball for the upcoming battle, he fiddled around with his pokedex as he tried to finalize a training plan for Kadabra. Since he had gotten used to his evolution by now and had some experience with psychic-type moves in Confusion, Ash could move on to other moves.

Hardly any time had passed when Ash reached the front of the queue. He expected to wait for an hour or two, not fifteen minutes. Just showed how weak the opposing trainers were. When Ash entered the gym, he was greeted by a huge man with a buzz cut.

"Want to challenge for a ticket?" he shouted out loud.

"Umm," Ash hummed confused. "Not really. I want to challenge for the Gym Badge."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA." A booming laugh came from within the gym as a giant man came into view. He looked to be around seven feet tall and his body appeared to be chiselled from granite. He wore a sleeveless army-green muscle tee a cargo pants. Accompanying that was a pair of black army boots.

"I like that answer, kid. You've got balls. This match may actually be fun. Arceus knows when was the last time I had a proper challenge. Most of these wussies lose in one attack. You want to challenge for the gym? What's your name? How many badges have you got?"

"My name is Ash Ketchum. I have two badges so far."

"Ash Ketchum?" Lt. Surge asked out loud. "You're the trainer recommended by both Brock and Misty so far, right? This challenge has just gotten more interesting. Come in, let's start our match."

Lt. Surge lead Ash to the battlefield where a referee was already there. Ash went and stood in the challenger's box as the gym leader went and stood in his box.

"This is a gym battle between Lt. Surge of the Vermilion City Gym and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. This will be a four-on-four battle and only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokemon. The trainers will now release their first pokemon."

Lt. Surge smirked and released a Magnemite. Ash though of his options before finalizing a plan. Unlike the previous two gyms, he didn't know his opponent's pokemon. He was only guaranteed to face a weaker team. This was another idea by the League to gently ease the trainers into actual gym battles.

Selecting a pokeball from his belt, he pressed the release button as he said, "Let's do this, Dratini." He released his dragon-type first as he had Ember, a move that is super effective against steel-type pokemon.

"Oho!" Lt. Surge boomed. "A Dratini? You are seriously starting to live up to my expectations. Let's start this. Magnemite, Thundershock."

"Water Pulse!" Ash countered immediately. While he could have neutralized the electric attack, he wanted it use it later for Lt. Surge's stronger pokemon. Both pokemon dodged the attacks with ease.

"Sonic Boom!" Magnemite covered himself in a bubble as massive waves were sent towards Dratini.

"Counter with Twister!" the two wind attacks, one sound based and the other filled with draconic energy met each other in the middle of the battle and cancelled each other out. So far, both trainers were just testing each other's pokemon out.

"Shockwave!" a brilliant wave of electric energy made its way towards Dratini and Ash knew that Shockwave was one of those moves that can never be dodged, only countered. So, that's what he did.

"Meet it with Thundershock!" the two electric-type attacks met each other in mid-air and once again, they cancelled each other out.

"Not bad kid!" Lt. Surge exclaimed. "Your Dratini is not half bad. But let's show you real power. Magnemite, Electro Ball!"

As the magnet pokemon concentrated on its attack, Ash quickly decided to match power with power. "Dratini, blast it with Dragon Rage. Finish it with Ember." Ash was pretty sure that when it came to pure power, his Dratini was much more powerful than the Magnemite.

"What?!" Lt. Surge shouted as Ash's analysis rang true. The powerful dragon-type attack tore through the yellowish ball of electric energy and went on to hit Magnemite.

" **Magneee!** " it shouted but it had no time to recover as powerful flames hit it next knocking it unconscious.

"Magnemite is unable to battle. The winner is Dratini!" the referee announced.

"Great job, Dratini!" Ash smiled. But he was not relaxing. Dratini was one of Ash's most powerful pokemon and Lt. Surge had just sent out his weakest so far. The battle was far from over.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ash looked over to see Lt. Surge laughing his ass off. This confused Ash immensely since his pokemon had just fainted. Once he recovered himself, he saw Ash's confused expression and decided to elaborate.

"Do you know what this Gym is supposed to teach? Power! It is supposed to make trainers realise that there are opponents who can defeat their pokemon in a single attack! But you don't need that! Your Dratini can do that itself!" he returned Magnemite and took out another pokeball. "And this has me fired up! FINALLY! A challenge! After so long!"

He then released his next pokemon. Ash watched as the pokeball released what looked like a bigger pokeball. Only this one had a face and didn't have the button in the middle. Voltorb.

"Voltorb vs Dratini. Begin."

"You've already shown me your power. Now, let's see how you fare when the roles are reversed!" Lt. Surge exclaimed ominously. "Rollout!" the Voltorb immediately started rolling towards Dratini at a high speed as it looked to smash against the Dragon pokemon.

"Iron Tail!" Ash countered.

As Dratini's tail glowed silver and was about to crash into the approaching Voltorb, Lt. Surge decided to change strategies. "Jump above the attack and stop yours!" He boomed in his loud voice.

Seeing that this was an elaborate strategy to get Voltorb close, Ash decided to counter before his opponent could finish his plan. "Dragon Rage!"

"This won't work again! Say bye-bye to your Dratini!" Lt. Surge had a wicked smile on his face, one that Ash didn't like a single bit. "Voltorb! Self-Destruct!"

Ash's eyes widened as he yelled "Get out of there!" but it was for naught as the area around the Voltorb exploded violently as if a bomb had gone up there. When the dust cleared, it showed both Dratini and Voltorb unconscious.

"Dratini and Voltorb are both unable to battle. This round is a draw. Since the Voltorb is the first to faint, the Gym Leader will send out his next pokemon first," announced the referee.

Ash returned Dratini to his pokeball with a grimace. He never imagined Lt. Surge would do something like that. "Good job, Dratini. I couldn't be prouder of you." He told the dragon pokemon.

"Now that such a powerful pokemon of yours has been knocked out, let's see what you're made of, kid!" Lt. Surge exclaimed haughtily as he put his Voltorb's pokeball back in his pocket. It seemed like even the Gym Leader was talking to his pokemon after its defeat. Ash felt anger rising in him at the Lieutenant's words but forced it down. He would not let his opponent rile him up. So, taking a deep breath, he looked back with a hardened expression, his eyes full of determination.

"I like that look, kid!" Lt. Surge laughed again. "Let's see what you make of my next pokemon!" with that, he released his third pokemon. The pokemon that appeared from the pokeball was a canine, quadruped pokemon. The body was primarily blue and it had a spiky, yellow mane on its head and yellow fur on its haunches and its front feet. It had red eyes and holes at the side if its head. Maybe they were ears? Ash mused to himself. But that was not the important part. The important part was that Ash recognised this pokemon. And it was not from the Kanto region.

"Is that a Manectric?" he asked incredulously.

"So you recognise him?" Lt. Surge asked in amusement. "Yes, this is a Manectric. With so many regions open to us Gym Trainers, did you honestly think that we would have pokemon only from the Kanto region?"

"Now that you put it like that, I guess not," Ash admitted grudgingly. "But you're not the only one with a pokemon from another region! Go, Floette!" he released his fairy-type pokemon. He had to see what Manectric was capable of and Floette was his best bet to do so.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You're full of surprises, aren't you? Since I like you, I'll give you a warning. You better be prepared, Manectric is much more powerful than my previous two pokemon. I've seen your Dratini's power, now it's time for you to see my pokemon's."

"Thanks for the warning," Ash smirked. "I'll make sure you regret giving it to me!"

"HAHAHAHA! YES! Show me! Make it more fun!" he boomed as both fighters got ready for the battle.

"Manectric vs Floette! Begin."

"Spark!" immediately, Manectric used the speed most electric-type pokemon were known for as it charged at Floette, its body coursing with electricity. Fortunately for Ash, his starter was an electric-type as well so both he and his pokemon knew what to expect.

"Double Team!" Ash immediately countered. Instantaneously, numerous copies of Floette filled the room. The Floette Manectric attacked disappeared and another one took its place straightaway. Soon, Manectric was surrounded by replicas of Floette from all sides.

"Great work, Floette!" Ash said with pride. They might take longer, but Ash's belief that a pokemon should master a move always paid dividends later on. This was one such instance. "Now, Razor Leaf!"

While Ash had taught Pikachu Double Team as a means to dodge an attack, he taught Floette that move not only to dodge but to attack as well. He had spent the last few days with her to help her use other moves while still using Double Team. As a result, multiple razor-sharp leaves descended on Manectric from all sides as the small fairy-type combined Double Team with Razor Leaf.

" **Manee!** " the Discharge Pokemon shouted in pain as small cuts appeared over its body from the numerous leaves.

"Manectric!" Lt. Surge shouted. "Use Quick Attack to dodge! Then find the Floette by using Shockwave!"

While Manectric could have easily dodged the attack, seeing the attack approaching it from all sides caused it to panic. His trainer's advice steadied him as he used his speed to his advantage to easily weave out of the attacks. The time it took for Floette to redirect her attack was all the time Manectric needed as he sent a powerful bolt of electricity at one of the copies. It magically redirected itself in mid-air and honed in towards the single bloom pokemon. it would have struck her too if Ash didn't know of the dangers of the attack.

"Counter with Fairy Wind! Don't let the Shockwave hit you!" A gale was blasted out of Floette's flower as it hit the Shockwave and neutralized it. While it may have given away her position for a second, she resumed her Double Team as soon as the attack was over.

"Almost got her there! Use Shockwave again!"

"Counter!"

Once more, the two moves cancelled each other out leaving both back where they were in the beginning. But Lt. Surge could be called many things, patient was never one of them.

"This is getting old! Manectric, let's show them why you're called the Discharge Pokemon! Vaporize that damn fairy!"

"Protect!" Ash yelled immediately. He didn't know what Manectric was going to do but if Lt. Surge gave an instruction called vaporize, Ash knew he had to take precautions. A couple of seconds later, Ash was glad he did as the entire battlefield was lit up with a powerful electric attack. Ash didn't know what it was, but he was guessing it was Discharge.

Once the attack died down, Ash gaped at the aftermath. Huge cracks lined up the floor of the battlefield looking like jagged scars. All copies of Floette had disappeared as well leaving the original standing behind a protective layer, unharmed. Knowing that using such a powerful attack would leave the Manectric vulnerable for a split second, Ash moved to capitalize.

"Slam it!" Ash shouted urgently. Floette took heed of her trainer's words as vines immediately came out of the flower she uses and wrapped around her opponent. Once secure, she lifted him up and smashed him into the ground.

"Manectric!" the lieutenant shouted, a hint of urgency creeping into his tone as well. "Use those vines as a conductor! Thunderbolt!"

Already expecting that attack since he would do the same if the positions were reversed, Ash shouted "Keep slamming it! Try to ignore the pain!"

Floette trusted her trainer as she followed his instructions. The Thunderbolt slammed into her but its powers were weakened slightly as grass was a poor conductor of electricity. The battle soon turned into one of attrition as both pokemon were getting damaged continuously.

"Keep at it!" Both trainers tried to encourage their pokemon as the battle continued and they were weakening continuously. Not wanting to give up, both pokemon continued as long as they could. In the end, Manectric won as Floette was forced to retract her vines due to the pain but the damage had been done.

Both Manectric and Floette glared at each other as they huffed and tried to remain standing. Lt. Surge smirked seeing Floette in a much worse shape than his Manectric. He was about to taunt his opponent but stopped short at seeing his smirk.

"What?" he asked dumbfounded. "Why the hell are you smirking? Your pokemon is on her last legs and is about to lose."

"Is she?" Ash taunted. "Floette, Wish!" the small fairy started glowing a soft golden colour as her injuries started healing. The slouching pokemon started to stand straighter as she recovered energy. A few seconds later, she was ready to go another round, almost as good as new.

"What?" Lt. Surge growled. "She keeps knowing one annoying move after another! Manectric, enough of this battle! Vaporize it! Thunderbolt!"

A massive bolt of electricity (Ash mentally made a note of how much bigger the attack was than his Pikachu's) arced its way towards Floette who nimbly moved out of the way of the attack and retaliated with a barrage of leaves. Manectric tried dodging as well but the leaves followed him and struck him causing him to cry out in pain.

"Argh! Again with the annoying attacks! Manectric, get in close! Quick Spark!"

Guessing what the attack would do, Ash instantaneously countered. "Protect!" Manectric, moving at an extremely fast speed slammed into a barrier completely disorienting himself. Seeing the opportunity, Ash instructed, "Slam it as hard as you can. If it is still conscious, Magical Leaf till it is knocked out!"

As Floette wrapped Manectric in her vines and carried him up as high as she could, Ash made a mental note to teach her some powerful moves. She just had a glorious chance to finish the battle with a single attack but didn't have any move powerful enough to do so. Another thing to work on after the battle, he mused as he winced subconsciously when Manectric was slammed into the ground with force from more than ten feet high.

Floette withdrew her vines as soon as she could so Manectric couldn't use them as before while everyone waited for the dust to settle. Once it did, they saw Manectric lying down with swirls in its eyes.

"YES!" Ash exulted. "That was brilliant, Floette!" before he stopped and looked at the referee as he remembered the mistake he made in the last match. He need not have worried as the referee raised his flag towards Ash.

"Manectric is unable to battle. Floette wins."

"Well, well." Lt. Surge commented as he withdrew his Manectric. "I didn't expect that. I expected Manectric to defeat at least one of your pokemon. Your Floette is much stronger than I expected. And deceptive too. Who would have thought such a tiny thing would be able to withstand that much damage? Credit to you as a trainer. I can now see why Brock and Misty have recommended you." He praised, none of the haughtiness he had been using thus far present in his voice.

"Thank you, but credit goes to Floette, not to me."

"Yes, a truly marvellous pokemon. I have seen enough to recommend you for a multiple-use TM. Your Dratini had power, your Floette has the ability to wear a pokemon down and defeat them. But, I can only give it to you if you defeat me. You have done well so far, but can you defeat my strongest pokemon?" he asked as he released his final pokemon.

His final pokemon was familiar to Ash. It was a bipedal, rodent like pokemon. it had orange fur with a cream belly. It had bifurcated ears, brown on the outside, yellow on the inside. It had familiar electric sacs on its cheeks and a lightning-bolt shaped tail. Raichu, Pikachu's evolved form.

"You ready for another round?" Ash asked Floette. She just gave him a determined nod and tensed her body in preparation for the upcoming battle. She had no doubt it would be a tough one.

"Raichu vs Floette. Begin."

"Vaporize it! Thunder!" Raichu was surrounded by a circle of electric energy which it then released in the form of a massive bolt. The attack was so large that it was easily two feet wide. Ash didn't have to say anything, Floette swerved away from the attack as fast as she could. Numerous leaves erupted from her flower and honed in on Raichu and struck it.

Unfortunately for Ash and Floette, it didn't have the effect they wanted it to. Instead of showing pain, it just growled in annoyance as it tried to swat away the leaves that were leaving small scratches on it.

"Burn them! Shockwave!" To Ash's and Floette's surprise, instead of a bolt of electric energy, small electric currents came from Raichu. Each current struck a leaf and burnt it thereby nullifying the attack. Ash knew Raichu was powerful, but he didn't expect such control from it.

"Surprised?" Lt. Surge questioned. "While I give importance to power, even I know it is useless without control. Raichu, finish this. Quick Spark!"

"Fairy Wind! You know when!" Ash countered. Not for the first time in the match Ash counted his lucky stars that his pokemon had experience battling a Pikachu in training. While using Quick Attack, he can dodge a majority of the attacks thrown at him unless they are ones that can never miss like Swift, Magical Leaf, etc. The trick to hitting him in such an instance is to wait till the last possible second to attack. It had taken days if not weeks for all his pokemon to get used to Pikachu's speed at the beginning but it was paying off now. Just as Raichu was about to hit Floette, she blasted him back with a powerful gale. While the attack may have been very weak when Ash caught her, she had trained it enough to cause real damage with it now.

" **Rai!** " the mouse pokemon screamed as it flew back before rolling on the ground a few times. It got up on all four limbs and shook its body before glaring at the fairy pokemon who had wasted no time in sending more razor-sharp leaves at it. Ash had instructed her not to use her vines. He had seen what Thunder could do - the deep gouge in the floor was proof of that – he didn't want Floette to be hit by that and she wholeheartedly agreed.

"Not bad!" Lt. Surge laughed. "Not many pokemon have managed to do that to Raichu. But it ends now. Mega Punch!"

Knowing the same trick won't work twice and the fact that Floette was much slower than Raichu wad would not be able to dodge, he yelled out "Protect!" But Protect was a move that failed if used multiple times in a battle as proven when Raichu continued on to Floette unhindered and easily smashed it away.

The fairy was sent flying away in pain and had no time to even think before she was hit by a bolt of electricity sending her to unconsciousness. Ash was just glad the Raichu had not used Thunder again.

"Floette is unable to battle. Raichu wins."

Ash withdrew Floette and heaped praises on her. She had taken out one of Lt. Surge's stronger pokemon on her own and he could not be more delighted with her. Clipping her pokeball on his belt, he contemplated his next move. Two of his pokemon at full strength against Lt. Surge's strongest pokemon who was damaged slightly by the various Magical Leaf and Fairy Wind attacks. He was fairly confident of his chances.

Unclipping the pokeball of his next pokemon, he pressed the release button. "Let's do this, Eevee!"

" **Vee, Eevee!** " she yipped in excitement as she experienced her first gym battle.

"Be careful, Eevee! The Raichu is powerful!" Ash warned her. She nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Raichu vs Eevee. Begin."

"Thunderbolt!" Lt. Surge shouted immediately.

"Quick Tail!" Ash countered.

As Eevee zipped away from the approaching attack, Lt. Surge countered as well. "Meet it with Mega Kick!"

Eevee's tail, hardened to feel like steel met with Raichu's kick which was glowing white. Ash expected that with the speed of the attack and the power behind the Iron Tail, Eevee would win that little battle. But, Raichu was so powerful that its Mega Kick met Eevee's Iron Tail with equal power. Both pokemon glared at each other as the attacks stalemated.

Both pokemon zipped away at high speed as they attacked each other at high speed turning the battle into one of pure speed and tenacity. Both pokemon were blurs to the eyes of their trainers as they battled each other out.

"You're pokemon are impressing me more and more!" Lt. Surge laughed! "To be able to keep up with Raichu in speed is unbelievable!"

Ash let the praise slide off him. He knew that Eevee will not be able to keep it up for long since it was her competitive spirit that made her match Raichu's speed currently. This meant Ash and Eevee had to be the ones to break the current deadlock.

"Eevee, use Swift!"

"Blast it away!" Lt. Surge shouted. The glowing star-shaped rays were blasted away as Raichu's Thunderbolt arced towards Eevee. However, both Eevee and Ash expected this and Eevee deftly dodged the approaching attack with ease once again.

Ash knew that long-range attacks won't work on either of the pokemon because of their high speed. He also knew that Dig, Eevee's best hope, would never hit Raichu unless he generates an opening. And Ash had an idea in his mind. He would get one chance to damage the Raichu. He would have to take it.

Quickly starting the plan since he could see Eevee starting to get tired due to the high-speed battle, he instructed, "Eevee, Sand Attack!" she immediately stopped her battle as she used her paws to send sand at Raichu. The attack was non-damaging. At most, it would blind Raichu for a few seconds, something Ash could use.

"Futile!" Lt. Surge yelled as Raichu dodged the attack effortlessly. "Now's our chance! Raichu, vaporize it!"

While Lt. Surge thought Ash had made a mistake, the rookie trainer just smirked. Hook, line, and sinker. "Take it!" he yelled to the Evolution Pokemon.

Lt. Surge's expression changed from triumphant to confusion and settled on utter disbelief as the powerful bolt of electricity released by his pokemon failed to affect his opponent. He rubbed his eyes and stared at Eevee again and saw it to be true. She didn't have a single scratch on her.

"Now's our chance!" Ash yelled jubilantly. "Shadow Ball! Follow it up with Dig!"

As Eevee charged up her ghostly attack, Lt. Surge noticed Eevee's tail was glowing slightly and it was stuck in the ground. 'That cheeky bastard! He used Iron Tail to ground his pokemon thereby completely neutralizing electricity. For a rookie trainer, it is nothing short of brilliant!' he mused as Raichu faced the full brunt of Eevee's attack. With the small distance between the two – something I only created- he mused wryly – his pokemon had no chance to dodge the attack. As he was sent flying back, he saw Eevee dig a hole in the ground. Two seconds later, it sent his Raichu flying again as it struck from the ground.

He smirked as he felt adrenaline pumping again. This really was a fun battle. He looked across to the challenger's box to see Ash excitedly yelling at Eevee to finish the match. 'So, you think the match is over? Can't blame you. Unfortunately for you, I don't go down so easily.'

"Not bad, Ash. I never expected you to force me to use this move. But, this battle is over. Raichu, Volt Tackle!"

"Eevee, get out of there!" Ash shouted desperately as he saw Raichu give a smirk eerily similar to the one Lt. Surge's face. Its entire body got covered in electricity as Eevee drew away from her opponent and started moving around erratically to confuse the Raichu. It was for naught as one second Raichu was across the field, the next second Eevee gave a shout of pain as she was blasted back before falling unconscious. Ash could just stare in shock. All he saw was a yellow flash and that was it. Raichu covered almost fifty feet in one second, it was that fast!

"Eevee is unable to battle! Raichu wins!"

"Let's see what you have in store next!" Lt. Surge said. He shook his head before mumbling to himself, "And to think that Eevee pushed Raichu this far!"

However, Ash heard him as he looked at the Raichu. Its entire body was shaking as it heaved in giant gulps of air. Bruises littered its body due to the damage caused by the Shadow Ball and the Dig. The recoil from Volt Tackle damaged it worse. In all, it looked to be in pretty bad shape. He smirked before recalling Eevee. She may not have won the battle but she damaged the Raichu quite significantly. And if she was able to do this to Lt. Surge's strongest pokemon, she definitely earned the praise Ash heaped on her as he recalled her.

Knowing the battle was reaching its climax, Ash withdrew his final pokemon and sent it out. "We're almost there. Let's do this, Pikachu!"

As Pikachu appeared on the battlefield, Lt. Surge took one look at him and burst out laughing. "So, this is why you know how to battle electric-pokemon so well!" he commented once he regained control over himself. "I must admit, this Pikachu is strong. You've done a brilliant job raising him. You've had him for long?"

"He's my starter," Ash said proudly.

"Starter, eh?" Lt. Surge smirked. "Well, we have something in common then. Come, boy! Show me how you've trained your Pikachu!"

"Gladly!"

"Raichu vs Pikachu. Begin."

"Thunderbolt!" Ash baited Lt. Surge and Raichu. It took the attack head on as Ash expected it to and was blasted a couple of feet back.

"Not bad! Now Raichu, show it a real Thunderbolt!"

Raichu's attack may have been three times the power of Pikachu's but Ash's starter didn't budge an inch. Instead, both trainer and pokemon had identical smirks reminiscent of their opponents a few minutes ago.

"What?" Lt. Surge asked before realisation struck him. "Ah, I see. Lightning Rod."

"Correct! Thanks for the energy boost" Ash smirked. "Quick Tail!"

Pikachu disappeared from naked human eye as it zipped towards Raichu. His opponent, unfortunately, was as fast as him and was able to match Pikachu blow-for-blow. Since electric attacks didn't really damage either of the two, the battle was now fought with fists and tail. Mega Punch met Brick Break, Iron Tail met Mega Kick as both pokemon were equal in power. Ash and Pikachu were fortunate that Raichu was already injured and weak because if it was at full strength, Pikachu would have lost. Even now, Pikachu was just able to keep up with it.

Seeing this go on for a minute, Ash got frustrated and he shouted, "How is this your weakened team? Your Raichu should not be this powerful!"

"That's because he's not!" Lt. Surge laughed. "Because the League didn't want any wussies to get into the tournament on the ship, I was permitted to use one of my pokemon from my actual team. Raichu may not ne my strongest pokemon, but he is definitely right up there!"

Ash growled in return. No wonder his team were having such difficulty in defeating the Raichu. "Pikachu, Brick Break!" he shouted, hoping the outcome would be different this time. It was, just not how Ash was expecting it!

"Catch it!" Lt. Surge ordered. As Pikachu's fist descended on Raichu, the evolved one of the two absorbed the blow as he caught Pikachu's hand and trapped it. "Now's our chance! Slam it!"

"Brick Break with your other hand!" Ash ordered immediately. Lt. Surge's eyebrows shot up as Pikachu and Ash once again reversed a troublesome situation to their advantage, with Pikachu's other fist slamming into the Raichu. As he was sent tumbling back, Pikachu quickly sent it into the air with a combined Quick Attack and Spark and used the time Raichu needed to descend to the earth to charge up his most powerful Iron Tail.

His tail smashed into his evolved form's body powerfully as the Raichu hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Unbelievably, he was still trying to get up. But before he could stand upright, Lt. Surge interrupted. "Raichu, enough." When the orange-coloured mouse pokemon looked at his trainer confused, he gave a wry smile and continued. "That Pikachu is almost fresh while you are standing on your feet through sheer willpower right now. There's no need for you to get more injured, buddy."

Raichu stared at his trainer for a couple of seconds before he sent him a small smile and promptly fell down, probably unconscious.

"Raichu is unable to battle. Pikachu wins. The winner of this battle is the challenger, Ash Ketchum." The referee announced.

It took a couple of seconds for the announcement to sink in before Ash and Pikachu started to celebrate. "Not bad, kid. You'll have to come back some time and face my actual team. And come back when that Pikachu of yours is more powerful. I want to see what you are able to do with it once it has grown more." Lt. Surge said as he stood in front of Ash with his hand extended, Raichu on his shoulder at the exact spot where Pikachu normally sits on Ash's shoulder.

"Of course!" Ash confirmed as he took the outstretched arm and shook it. "You can count on it."

"Good," the Lieutenant smirked. "Here is the Thunder Badge. And here's your ticket to the S.S Anne. I better hear that you went far in the competition, kid. You understand?" he warned jokingly. At least, Ash hoped it was jokingly.

"Done," Ash confirmed. He was excited about the tournament, it would be a good experience for the League. The prizes and possible recognition were good motivators as well.

Lt. Surge smirked again as he saw Pikachu jump up and settle on Ash's shoulder, reminding him of himself as a teen. He then took rummaged around his desk before holding out a CD for Ash to use.

"I'm sure you know what this is by now?" he asked.

"A reusable TM?" Ash questioned in turn.

"Yes, this is a TM for Shockwave. I know your Pikachu already knows Thunderbolt, but it is a powerful move in its own right. You can teach it to other pokemon as well. Your Dratini comes to mind for one."

"Thank you!" Ash smirked at the possibilities of the TM. Not only Dratini, but Kadabra could learn the attack as well. And with Pikachu to guide them, they could master the move quickly as well.

"I know that look," Lt. Surge laughed. "But you can plot later. For now, let's get our pokemon healed."

Ash nodded in agreement as both left the gym. Near the entrance, Lt. Surge stopped to address a man. "John, you're taking over the gym till I come back. If there are any serious contenders, stall them till I return. Blast the rest."

"Yes, sir!" the man saluted in return.

As they left the gym, both saw that the line outside had already magnified. It seemed like their battle had gone on for longer than they thought. Everyone in the crowd started whispering to each other as they saw the Gym Leader with another kid. Both Ash and Lt. Surge ignored them as they made their way towards the gym while discussing their recent battle.

During a small pause in their conversation, Ash reflected on the events of the last hour. While it had taken the combined efforts of Floette, Eevee, and Pikachu, Ash had managed to defeat a pokemon from the Lieutenant's main team. In a way, it was good. Ash now had an idea about how powerful these pokemon were and could prepare for the rest of the challengers accordingly. But, for now, he had a tournament to look out for!

 **END CHAPTER**

 **So this is the first time I have detailed the training Ash has his pokemon do. Tell me how it is. Should I stick with it or should I go back to summarizing the training like I did in the previous chapters?**

 **Next chapter will be the tournament. Give me some suggestions for opponents Ash will face. Keep in mind that none of the pokemon should be too powerful. If we talk about them in terms of the game, they should be around level 30. So keep that in mind while suggesting (No final evolutions of starter pokemon, for example). Also, don't suggest a team of super powerful pokemon (a team of Dragonite, Tyranitar, Garchomp, etc.) A team will have at most one powerful pokemon like that.**

 **So, next chapter will also be the introduction of Damien. Will Ash get his revenge? Will he get to fight him? If yes, what pokemon should Damien have? How badly should I have Ash crush if. Will Damien win the battle between the two? (Why can't he?)**

 **Do review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome and I try my best to listen and improve. I believe I am already a better writer than what I was when I started this story a month and a half back. So, any suggestions, any thoughts, PM or review them. I always respond to them.**

 **I have also updated my profile to show the current moveset for Ash's pokemon. I will also update it every week with the status of the next chapter.**

 **What did you guys think of the new Sun and Moon trailer? The starters, the legendaries? Personally, I found the Sun legendary to look a lot like a mix of a Pyroar and Arceus. I hope the evolutions of the starters is more exciting as the starters are disappointing as of now. My biggest hope is that after 6 six generations of games, Sun and Moon give us something new. Maybe a type combination never seen before. An extremely powerful pokemon that is not dragon-type? A bigger region? (the map looks extremely small). What are your expectations for the games?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I started my post grad and with working a minimum of 12 hours a day, I just did not have time to write as I wanted to. I hope this long chapter makes up for my long absence. It is my longest chapter till date and is 33600+ words long before the Author's Note.**

 **The first part of the chapter may seem a little dull as there is little action but I feel I have made up for that in the latter half of the chapter. So please have a little patience as it is all tied together.**

 **My previous Beta does not have the time he had when he first volunteered his services. He has been an amazing Beta and I know for a fact that my chapters would not have come out this smooth if not for him. That being said, I am in need of a new Beta.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

 **Damian**

Static filled the air as two streaks of electricity of different sizes made their way to the small bipedal pokémon who took the attacks without flinching. In fact, the electricity seemed to be absorbed by the receiver of the attacks. When the outbreak of electricity disappeared, a small static was released from twin pouches on the cheeks of the yellow pokémon.

"Better!" Ash commented once things settled down slightly. It was a day after Ash had beaten Lt. Surge to win his third gym badge. While Ash had expected to be competing at the tournament on the S.S. Anne, he had been told by the imposing gym leader that Nurse Joy had been misinformed. The last day for receiving the free tickets had been when they had their battle but the ship was to leave after ten days. This would give the organizers enough time to co-ordinate everything as leaving a day after the tickets were given out would have been an administrative hassle.

Ash, while slightly disappointed at first, soon saw the massive opportunity this presented to him to train his pokémon for the tournament. After giving his pokémon their well-deserved rest and picking up supplies for their impromptu ten-day training camp, they left Vermillion City for a small clearing close to the city. Ash had decided to make immediate use of the TM given to him by Lt. Surge the day before by teaching Shockwave to Pikachu, Dratini, and Kadabra.

For Pikachu, who had mastered Thunderbolt, an attack that required more power and finer control that Shockwave, mastering the new move took less than 15 minutes, something Ash honestly expected. This allowed Pikachu to help Dratini and Kadabra, and Ash was excited by how little time it was taking them to learn Shockwave, even if the information on how to use it was downloaded into their brains.

Dratini already knew Thundershock and the know-how of the attack was provided by the TM. All he had to do was generate enough power and learn control. Anyone who knew Dratini knew that power was not an issue for the dragon-type pokémon, and with Pikachu helping him learn how to control the electric current, Dratini was well on his way to mastering the move.

Kadabra was the one that surprised Ash. Having just evolved and knowing only Teleport and Confusion, Ash was hopeful that the psi pokémon would master Shockwave by the end of the training camp. However, an hour into training, his Shockwave was already almost as good as Dratini's. While Dratini could produce the power behind the attack and had to work on his control, Kadabra had masterful control and needed to generate more power. Ash had severely underestimated his newest pokémon as he was able to assimilate the information from the TM efficiently producing Shockwave on his first try, something even Dratini was unable to do.

As Ash was thinking all this, Pikachu got done giving explanations to the other two pokémon. After every try, Pikachu would explain what the other two did wrong or what to improve on and how. As a result, every consecutive try was better. This was Kadabra's idea, and as with all his ideas, it was absolutely brilliant. At the rate at which they were going, they would master the move by early afternoon, maybe even before lunch! His attention was snapped back to the pokémon as the process was repeated with Pikachu once again absorbing the electricity generated by his two comrades.

Once the attacks died down, Pikachu wobbled slightly before releasing static from his pouches in small bursts and finally stabilizing. This was something that Lt. Surge had suggested the previous day, before he left for the gym. Ash remembered that conversation vividly.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Kid, I have some suggestions for your Pikachu," Lt. Surge said as they were eating a meal at the pokémon centre while waiting for their pokémon to be healed. The burly man had a scowl present on his face as Nurse Joy had taken great delight in teasing him about losing to a rookie when he was allowed to use a member from his actual team. She had threatened him to not injure the pokémon of the rest of his opponents so badly otherwise she would spread the news of his defeat to the entire pokémon community and make sure to make it as embarrassing as possible. Lt. Surge had reluctantly agreed to the terms of the devious woman.

"What is it?" Ash asked excitedly. He knew that even a small hint from Lt. Surge would help make his Pikachu more powerful than any other mundane, electric pokémon. The gym leader was known as a master of electric-type pokémon for a reason!

"From what I observed in our brief fight, your Pikachu is young. For him to be able to keep up with my Raichu, even when weakened, is no small feat. But the speed can be improved further. Win the tournament at the S.S. Anne. I know that the prize money for winning the tournament is large. Invest that money in training weights for your Eevee and Pikachu since they are the speedsters of your team. This will help them become true monsters on the battlefield."

Ash butted in with a question at this point. "While what you are saying makes sense, won't the weights become useless after a while?"

Lt. Surge just smirked at the kid. "Brat, we live in a world where a massive Snorlax can be fitted into a ball the size of your hand. Do you really think that the training weights will be so….simple?" he asked out loud as he was visibly struggling with finding a word to express his thoughts. "Anyway," he snapped back to the conversation, "I'm suggesting you to invest in the weights because they are not cheap. They have settings on them that alter the weight of the equipment as you see fit. Don't ask me how it works, I'm a soldier, not an engineer!" he added quickly when he saw Ash open his mouth and correctly interpreted his question.

When Ash nodded in compliance, he continued. "Other than speed, I saw your Pikachu's diversity in attacks. For a young one to master Thunderbolt is no mean feat. And you've started on him learning non-electric-type attacks as well as evidenced by his Iron Tail and Brick Break. You can help him learn some new moves, that's your prerogative. But, you need to start working on his power!"

"How do I do that?" Ash asked, leaning forward with interest. So far, he assumed that a pokémon grows more powerful as he matures. But, if there was a way to make a pokémon grow more powerful, he was very interested in it!

"Tell me, Ash. Do you know what those pouches on the cheeks of that evolution line signify?"

"Yes. They are pouches that store the electricity for its attacks. They are also the reason why the Pikachu line can use Volt Tackle."

"Yes, that's true. And as the pokémon increases the amount of electricity stored in those pouches, the power behind its moves also increases." After saying this, Lt. Surge kept quiet for a while as he let Ash figure out the meaning behind those words on his own. And he was not disappointed, as Ash shot him a look of a man who had all his beliefs proven wrong at one go.

"What are you trying to say? Are you saying that if a Pikachu increases the storage capacity in its pouches little by little every day, it will have almost infinite power after a few years?!"

Lt. Surge laughed out loud at hearing this statement. "Kid, ever heard of limits? A man, no matter how powerful, can only lift a certain weight, no matter how much he trains. Similarly, the Pikachu line can store only a certain amount of electricity before it reaches its limits. That's not to say that the limit is low. A powerful Raichu, like mine, can defeat even a Dragonite with a Thundershock. Of course, it took us years to reach that level!"

Ash nodded along, that made sense. However, he stopped when another thought came to his mind. "If your Raichu can do that, how did my pokémon defeat it?" he asked curiously. "Even if it was the combined effort of three of my them."

The burly gym leader smirked. "Brat, just because you defeated a Raichu, what makes you think it was my starter?" With that parting commenting, he left Ash alone with his thoughts as he collected his pokémon and left the centre.

 **FLASHBACK END**

Ash had immediately tried to act on Lt. Surge's advice. He looked up the price of the training weights from Professor Oak, and realised that even a single set cost more than what he had saved till now. This lead him to think about how much the prize for the S.S. Anne tournament must be before going back to working on the advice Lt. Surge gave him. Since training weights were out, he had to think of how to increase Pikachu's power. Fortunately, it was easy. His Lightning Rod ability allowed him to absorb other electric attacks and could increase the electricity stored in his pouches a little every day by absorbing a Thundershock or two from Dratini. The progress they made in learning Shockwave helped.

"That's enough for today," he said out loud. When his pokémon gave him confused looks, he elaborated. "Pikachu, we don't want you to absorb too much electricity at one go, it would be harmful for you. Lt. Surge instructed us to increase it gradually! Kadabra, Dratini, you have the basics of Shockwave down, now all you need is practice. So, do so for an hour every day till you master it. If after a week you have not mastered the move, we will focus exclusively on it. For now, let's go talk to Eevee. She looks upset." His pokémon nodded in agreement and they moved to where Eevee and Floette were observing the proceedings for the previous hour. He was at a loss for what to teach Floette next and Eevee looked upset when she came out of her pokeball. Ash thought it might be one of those days where she woke up on the wrong side of the bed but since her mood had not improved in the last hour, he decided he needed to address the issue.

"Eevee," he called out. The evolution pokémon looked at him with doleful eyes before looking away from him. It looked like she found a rock more interesting to look at than him since she started a staring contest with it.

"Eevee," he tried again but this time she ignored him completely. "Eevee, come on, look at me." Ash said gently. He raised his hands and started petting her exactly where she liked it but she continued to look away from him. "Come on, Eevee. Tell me what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong with you." He tried again but the results were the same. His pokémon chimed in and started talking to her but they were rebuffed as well. In fact, Eevee seemed to be curling into herself even more.

"Eevee, please tell me," Ash pleaded. "It breaks my heart to see you like this! I love you, Vee!" That got a reaction from her, just not what Ash expected. Eevee turned to look at her trainer and they all saw tears falling from her large, brown eyes. "Oh, Vee!" Ash exclaimed as he scooped her up and cuddled with her. After comforting her for a few minutes, he decided to probe the issue at hand. "What's wrong, Vee?"

Slowly, hesitantly, she started talking in a series of yips. When she finished, she looked away from him and for the first time Ash recognised her emotions. She was ashamed. Of what, Ash had no idea.

' _Friend trainer,'_ Kadabra's voice rang out in his head. _'Eevee thinks that you will be mad at her for losing the gym battle. She says that it was the first time you trusted her with such an important match and she could not even defeat one opponent.'_

Ash looked incredulously at the psi pokémon. He then turned his attention to Eevee. "Is what Kadabra saying true? Do you really think I'm mad at you for not being able to defeat that Raichu?" Ash asked in disbelief. When Eevee nodded hesitantly, Ash just sighed exasperatedly. "Eevee, I thought you knew me better than that! I can never, ever be upset at any one of you for losing a battle unless you don't put all your efforts into it! Which you did! And you were absolutely magnificent!" At Eevee's disbelieving look, he elaborated. "Vee, that Raichu was no normal pokémon. Do you remember me telling you guys about how we will face extremely strong opponents from the fourth gym onwards?" Upon seeing a nod from each of his pokémon, he continued. "Raichu was an opponent like that. Due to an unforeseen circumstance, we had to face an opponent like that. And you played a major role in that victory. If you had not damaged it so much in your battle, Pikachu would probably not have been to defeat it." Pikachu helpfully nodded along with that and gave Eevee a thumbs up.

Ash smiled at his starter pokémon before giving Eevee a kiss on her head. "Don't ever think I'll be upset at you for such a reason again, you hear me? I love you, Vee!" It seemed like his encouragement worked as she perked up a little before licking his cheek fondly. Ash laughed happily before turning to all his pokémon. "Come on, let's decide what you all will learn over the next ten days!"

"Kadabra, you will work on mastering Iron Tail and Shockwave. Other than that, you are free to read and practice your psychic powers as you see fit." After Kadabra nodded happily at that, he turned to Pikachu.

"Let's change things up, Pikachu. I want you to start learning a few non-electric element attacks. Start with Signal Beam. This will probably be extremely difficult and time-consuming for you to learn as it is a bug-type attack. Learning this will be similar to how Eevee learnt Shadow Ball, so please take her help with this. Since you are an electric-type pokémon, you have no bug-type energy in you. You will have to feel the energy in the air around you to find the natural bug energy that exists. Meditate to do so, familiarize yourself with it."

Pikachu nodded in understanding and went to train. Ash moved to his dragon pokémon. The bump on his forehead was elongating slightly into a horn and with his height crossing the six-foot barrier, it was obvious that he was on the cusp of evolving, something that pleased Ash to no end. "Dratini, you will start learning Dragon Tail. This attack is similar to Iron Tail. I want you to start by concentrating your dragon-type energy into your tail. Do so till it is entirely coated with energy. You can start working on increasing the speed it takes to divert the energy to your tail after that." Dratini gave a happy coo and moved away to start concentrating on learning the new attack.

"Floette, it's time you learnt more fairy-type attacks. I want you to start learning Dazzling Gleam. To do so, you will have to cover your entire body in fairy-type energy and divert that energy onto your opponent. I want you to start by familiarizing yourself with the fairy-type energy in your body and drawing it out at will." Once Floette started training in her new move, Ash shifted his focus to the last member of his team.

"Eevee, let's have you learn Bite. You will have to channel a bit of dark-type energy into your mouth and bite your opponent viciously. Start with familiarizing yourself with and channelling the dark-type energy. Then work on the strength of your bite. Okay?" Having given instructions to all of his pokémon, he went to sit in the shade of a tree as he observed his pokémon going about their given tasks. He took out the egg to polish, something he often did while his pokémon trained.

He was aware that his pokémon had reached a stage where learning any new move would be a challenge. They now had to know themselves and their energies inside out. It wasn't just a small burst of power and the attack was over. No, now they had to be able to channel and control their energies throughout their bodies, something only Eevee had slight knowledge of from learning Shadow Ball. While it had taken her a lot of time to learn that attack, he was confident that his pokémon would not take so long this time. They all had grown more powerful, more mature in the previous months. And the ten-day stretch of only training with no travelling and minimal battling was the perfect time for them to start this phase of their learning.

The next few hours passed without incident, each one of them concentrating on learning their new attack. Pikachu had quickly sought the advice of Eevee on how to sift through the various energies in the atmosphere and isolate one of them. As Ash was about to call them back for lunch, he felt the egg in his hands shake slightly causing him to freeze. He stared at it in anticipation as he waited for it to hatch. A minute passed, then two. Slowly, time dragged by and the egg remained stationary. Ash frowned, thinking it was a figment of his imagination. He put the incident behind him as he called his pokémon for lunch.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

The days passed by in a similar vein. Ash would go from pokémon to pokémon encouraging them as they struggled with learning the new moves. He knew that this part of training was crucial for his pokémon; they would need to master their innate power to become truly powerful. Professor Oak had told him that very few pokémon have a complete mastery of their powers and the ones who did were known throughout history as the most powerful pokémon of that time. Most League Champions, the Elite Four, and the Gym Leaders had one or two pokémon like that. And that boggled Ash's mind. The best of the best in the region had only one pokémon who had reached that level?! Was it really that difficult to reach that status?

Even if it was, Ash's pokémon were starting down that path. Pikachu had a broad understanding of his electric powers and was just starting to tap into what else he could learn. The true test for him would come when he started learning Volt Tackle. Kadabra had evolved recently and was only just experimenting with his powers and getting used to his new form. It would take him a month or two to reach the stage where he tries to start mastering his powers. Floette had started down that path by learning to channel her energy for Dazzling Gleam, a stepping stone for when she learns Moonblast, the pinnacle of fairy-type attacks. Dratini too had started tapping into his draconic energy but the actual work would be when he evolves. He was just laying the foundations for later. Eevee, however, cannot do anything till she decides what she wants to evolve into.

And it looks like there may be progress in what she has finally decided. She had not trained on the second day of the camp, opting to sleep instead. She had only gotten up to eat, after which she was back to sleeping peacefully. She finally awoke around five in the evening and did some light training before Ash called for a halt for the day. The process continued the next day and Ash was wondering if something was wrong with her. He decided to wait for a couple of days to see if it continued and then he would take her to Nurse Joy.

This occurred on the fourth day as well. However, that night Ash was woken up from his sleep by a light scuffle. Normally, he wouldn't have woken up from a small sound like that, but he had had a little trouble sleeping. The egg kept shaking at random parts of the day and then stopping. It never shook more than once or twice. Ash kept thinking it to be a figment of his imagination but after it occurred one time too many, he had finally called Professor Oak to inform him about this earlier that day. The venerable professor just smiled happily and told Ash that the shaking egg was a sign that it was close to hatching. This gave Ash immense joy and the excitement coursing through his body was making it difficult for him to sleep.

He opened his eyes to see Eevee trying to bite a rock. He frowned, wondering why she was training late in the night before getting up to make his way towards her. His footsteps alerted her to his presence as she bounded to him and happily settled into his arms, giving his face a lick.

"Hey, Vee," Ash smiled softly and petted her head. "What are you doing training so late in the night?"

" **Vee, Eevee!** " she exclaimed pointing to the sky and then the rock trying to explain her reasoning. Ash frowned upon realising that he was not able to understand her gestures, something he could have done a month ago. It seems like he had gotten used to Kadabra translating what his pokémon wanted to say and his interpreting skills had gotten rusty. He would have to amend that. After all, if he can't understand each of his pokémon, what kind of a trainer would he be?

"You want to train...at night?" he asked uncertainly. While he understood what she meant when she pointed at the rock, he was unable to understand what she meant when she pointed at the sky.

" **Vee!** " came the resolute nod from the evolution pokémon.

Ash thought about this for a while wondering why she was insisting on training at night before the answer hit him. "Eevee," he called out tentatively. "Are you thinking of evolving into an Umbreon?"

" **Vee, Eevee!** " she nodded happily, with a glint of determination in her eyes.

"You're powerful as you are now, Vee. You don't have to evolve if you don't want to." Ash remembered the conversation he'd had with her three days ago. He didn't want her to take a knee-jerk reaction and end up doing something she'll regret. But it seemed like his words fell on deaf ears as she continued looking at him with the same determined eyes.

"Are you sure?" Ash sighed when her expression didn't change. "Just don't do something you will regret, Vee. I love you no matter what, always remember that!" Eevee licked his face in return before hopping down from his arms and going back to training. Ash just gave her a wry smile before leaving some food out for her in case she got hungry and went back to sleep.

The next couple of days passed by in a blur of watching over his pokémon as they trained (or slept, in Eevee's case) and waiting in anticipation for the egg to hatch. But that night, something different happened. A couple of hours after Ash and his pokémon other than Eevee went off to sleep, they were awakened by the evolution pokémon. They looked at her curiously as she bounded around in excitement. Any question they had was silenced by Eevee calling her name out loud one last time in excitement before she was enveloped in a bright light. Her body started elongating and became more streamlined. The light died down and in Eevee's place stood a different pokémon.

The brown eyes had changed to crimson while the brown fur turned black. Her ears and tail had a yellow band around them while her forehead and legs had yellow rings on them which were glowing in the dark of the night, giving an intimidating appearance. Eevee had finally evolved into an Umbreon.

For a moment, there was silence as everyone digested this development before everyone exploded into action and engulfed the Moonlight pokémon in a group hug. As all of them chattered amicably with the newly evolved pokemon, Ash looked at her with pride. "Congratulations, Umbreon. I'm so proud of you," said as he petted her head.

" **Breon!** " she said as she nuzzled into Ash's hand for a moment before looking at him with much more intelligent eyes than before.

"How about we all go back to sleep? We can continue training tomorrow and _you_ ," he gestured towards Umbreon, "need to acclimatise to your new body."

His pokémon nodded before everyone lay down together to sleep.

The next morning, they all woke up with new rigour for training. Everybody wanted to see how powerful Umbreon was after evolving. To get her used to moving around in her new body, Ash had her spar with Pikachu. And soon it became obvious that Umbreon was faster than before. While Eevee and Pikachu were around the same speed before the former's evolution, now Umbreon was obviously faster. While the difference wasn't too high at the moment, the gap would become higher once Umbreon got fully used to her body.

After the short spar, Ash had them start their training for the day. He often joined his pokémon in the first part of their training as it was a good bonding experience and the first part was all about improving their base stats. Pikachu, Dratini, Floette, and Umbreon would do physical exercises to improve their speed and strength. Ash had come up with a simple exercise that combined the two and was similar to what Lt. Surge had suggested a week prior. Ash would tie a massive rock around their body to act as a weight and ask the pokémon to do sprints. It was easy to do at the moment since all his pokémon were relatively small in stature. While it was easy to do with Pikachu and Umbreon and to a small extent with Dratini, he needed some way to help Floette since he knew this exercise didn't help her too much.

Kadabra spent this time engaging his mind. His physiology meant that the more Kadabra used his mind and the sharper it became, the more powerful he grew. He still had a few books that Bill leant them to go through, and was happily reading them. With the way things were going, Ash would need to buy more books soon as he expected Kadabra to go through the remaining books in the next three days.

After the physical exercise came the free for all dodging exercise. His pokémon sent their most basic attacks at one another and the receiver would only be allowed to dodge, not counter. This was easiest for Kadabra since he just teleported out of the way, but this was also training for him. Teleporting would be the main way Kadabra would dodge attacks in a fight and he needed to get used to launching attacks of his own immediately after teleporting.

After this short but intense session, his pokémon took a much-needed break and had some food and conversed with one another. Today was to get to know Umbreon better and to see how much of her personality had changed after her evolution. Already she was more standoffish than before which wasn't too bad since dark-type pokémon often have a nasty personality. A little standoffishness is mild compared to that.

Once breakfast was over, Ash decided to hold another common session for all his pokemon, a first of this type. He had held off from doing this before because Eevee would not have been able to take part in this. But now things had changed after her evolution.

"Alright, everyone. Today we'll do something different, something Dratini and Floette started a week ago. Now that you all are growing stronger, I want you guys to start controlling the energies in your body. Be it electrical," he looked at his starter as he said this, "or draconic," he told Dratini, "or fairy," his eyes found Floette's, "or psychic," he nodded at his psi pokémon, "or dark," he finished while gesturing to the Moonlight pokémon.

"Most of you have experience with using at least one attack of your respective types. The only exception is Umbreon who evolved last night. So you all have a basic understanding of your energies at the very least. Now, I want you all to learn how to direct that energy to wherever you desire. It is your energy, it is for you to control, not the other way around."

"Dratini, you already know how to direct the energy to your mouth as you use Twister and Dragon Rage. Now, I want you to start directing that energy to your tail. Don't do anything with that energy, just learn to start controlling how and where it flows."

"Pikachu, you are perhaps the most advanced among all the pokémon," he told the mouse pokémon. "You have learnt how to direct the energy from the sacs on your cheeks to even your tail as you do so for electro ball. I want you to use that concept and send it to your limbs as well. Since you are the only one who knows how to direct it to two different parts of your body, I want you to help the others as well, okay?"

" **Pi Pikachu** ," he nodded in ascent.

"Floette, the same thing as Pikachu. Learn to direct your fairy-type energy to different parts of your body. Once you can direct it to any limb at will, you can work on directing it to your entire body. Once you do so, you can work on Dazzling Gleam."

The fairy pokémon nodded happily. Truthfully, she was struggling to learn the new attack her trainer had instructed her to learn and she was feeling out of her depth. Breaking what she had to do into steps, she at least had a clear direction on what she had to do next."

"Umbreon, I know you don't have any experience with the dark-type energy flowing through your body now. So, you will have to do things differently. You need to learn how to call the energy out. It is all stored inside you. Once you have tapped into the energy, learn to direct it to your mouth. If you can do that, you will be able to learn Bite with ease."

Umbreon nodded happily. She knew she was behind the rest of her family having just evolved, but she would catch up soon. Her pride demanded nothing less.

"I want you and Pikachu to work together," Ash instructed. "You can help him learn Signal Beam and he can help you in drawing your energy out since he has the most experience among all of us in doing so." Once both pokémon nodded to show that they understood, he shifted focus to the last member of his team.

"Kadabra, this lesson is important for you as well."

' _What do you mean?'_ Kadabra asked in surprise. _'Why would I need to learn this?'_

"Because you need to be able to control your energy as well. And not just control, but direct it as well. Or have you forgotten that your line can learn attacks like Zen Headbutt or Psycho Cut?" Ash asked with a smirk knowing he had won this round.

' _I guess you're right,'_ Kadabra conceded unhappily.

"Oh, don't look so grumpy," Ash laughed. "Think of it this way. The sooner you learn this, the quicker you will be able to get back to reading to your heart's content."

Kadabra didn't say anything but the narrowing of his eyes showed his displeasure enough. The next second Ash yelped out loud as something hard hit him on the back of his head. He turned around to see a small rock hit the ground. The smugness coming from Kadabra told Ash who was responsible for that.

"Anyway, let's begin training," Ash said as he ignored the sniggering of his pokémon manfully.

His pokémon soon grew serious as they started concentrating on the task at hand. Surprisingly, it took less than an hour for one of his pokémon to make a breakthrough. Unsurprisingly, it was Pikachu who did so. With a loud " **Pika, Pika!** " Ash turned to see his starter's hands sparkling with static.

"Wow, Pikachu! That was quick! I expected you guys to spend a few days working on this!" Ash exclaimed.

" **Pika Pi!** " the mouse pokémon exclaimed as the static in his right hand went out and his left hand started glowing white and Pikachu made a chopping motion.

"Of course! You already know how to divert energy to your hands for Brick Break! Congrats, Pikachu. Perhaps you can explain to the rest how you were able to do it." Ash suggested. Pikachu nodded in agreement and started explaining to the rest of the pokémon. Ash smiled in adoration. His starter looked absolutely endearing when he got animated like that. The process must not have been as easy as Pikachu made it out to be as he was explaining for a good two minutes. Once done, he went back to learning how to better control his electric energy.

They continued doing this for the next few hours. Pikachu, having gotten a slight hang of it, continued trying to further his progress. The rest of his pokémon were having little success till finally Dratini's tail started glowing green. It flickered for barely a second before disappearing. But it was progress!

"Brilliant Tini! You almost got it! You're on the right track!" Ash exclaimed proudly. Unfortunately, that was the last thing of note that happened before lunch. After a break to give their bodies some rest, the pokémon went back to trying to learn their new moves. For Dratini and Floette, it was back to trying to control their innate energies, so they trained together. Pikachu and Umbreon went together as well since they needed each other's help for the next stage of their training. Kadabra, on the other hand, settled next to Ash to read a book, as Ash went back to polishing the egg.

The final three days of the camp went by in a similar manner. Unsurprisingly, Umbreon learnt how to bring out her powers since doing so was the easy part. She was now learning how to divert it to her mouth to use bite. There was progress and Ash was confident it would not take too long. Pikachu had yet to make any progress on learning Signal Beam. Dratini and Floette, however, were successful in diverting their innate energies to their limbs (or tail in Dratini's case) and had to progress to the next stage of learning their attack. Kadabra had finally made some progress on Iron Tail but both the psi pokémon and Dratini had mastered Shockwave over the ten days. All in all, Ash thought it was ten days well spent. His pokémon got some good training in and they were ready for the upcoming tournament.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash looked around in awe at the magnificence surrounding him. The S.S. Anne was truly breath-taking. Ash had never seen such luxury in his life! The floor had a wooden finish to it and was gleaming brightly in the sun. Lounge chairs were spread around the ship and there was a massive pool in the centre. Tables were spread across the room and all kinds of drinks and cuisine were on them. He could see people already on them enjoying the various luxuries available.

" **Pikaaaa** ," his starter murmured in awe.

"I know, right?" Ash asked Pikachu rhetorically. "It's magnificent."

"ASH! HEY, ASH!" he heard his name being shouted from somewhere. He turned to see his childhood friend waving at him. She was accompanied by a middle-aged man with black, curly hair, bluish eyes and some facial hair on his face. She was wearing a blue shirt with black pants and a yellow-coloured belt.

"Hi, Ash! Long-time no see! How have you been?" Leaf asked excitedly as Ash drew closer to them. Ash blushed as he got his first look at her since they left for their respective journeys. The months on the road had done wonders for her figure, especially her legs which were on display with the short skirt she was wearing. He started at the small shock his starter gave him and mentally resolved to give him a treat later on for the save.

"Hi, Leaf! I've been good! Just won my third gym badge and will now participate in the tournament here. What about you? Are you participating as well?"

"Oh Arceus no!" she laughed in amusement. "I was always unsure if I wanted to challenge the gym circuit and the last few months have only affirmed my decision. I don't want to challenge the League, Ash."

"Hmm is that so?" Ash asked thoughtfully. He knew that not everyone could or even wanted to be a pokémon master. It was the toughest title to achieve for a reason. "Have you thought of what you wanted to do then?"

"Yep. I'm going to be a Pokémon Coordinator!" she proclaimed enthusiastically.

Ash could see that happening. Pokémon Coordinators were trainers who showed off the beauty of pokémon rather than train them to fight. They were often charismatic and good looking, as Leaf was, Ash's mind supplied to him making him blush once again. Stupid hormones.

"The Grand Festival won't know what hit them, will they?" Ash smirked confidently causing Leaf to giggle. "So, have you decided which region you will contest in first?" he asked knowing that the Kanto region didn't have the Ribbon Cup contest yet. There were rumours that preparations for the Cup were underway and it would take another two years for the inauguration to take place.

"I was originally going to go to the Hoenn Region. But when I was back home preparing for my journey, I ran into Professor Sycamore here," she replied while pointing out the man standing next to her.

"You mean the regional Professor of the Kalos Region?" Ash asked in surprise.

"You are well informed young man," Professor Sycamore spoke for the first time. "To be expected of the rookie trainer who has garnered such high praise from Professor Oak."

"Oh, I'm not that great," Ash replied while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Don't sell yourself short. The fact that you are competing in the tournament here is a big achievement in the first place. Only the best of the best trainers are here. And if that doesn't convince a person, Professor Oak's word should certainly do. Leaving aside all this, that Pikachu on your shoulder is enough to prove to me how good a trainer you are."

"You got that from just looking at him?" Ash asked in surprise.

This got a wry smile out of the professor from Kalos. "You don't get to be the regional professor of an entire region by being incompetent, Ash. I take pride in my work and I am good at it."

"You were never good at accepting praise, Ash." Leaf giggled. "As I was saying, I was going to go to Hoenn to start my journey but bumped into Professor Sycamore here. His love for the Kalos region was infectious. Not only that, but do you remember Serena? She was with us in Professor Oak's training camp."

"Serena? She was the girl who got that scrape, right?" Ash asked while trying to remember the girl he had spoken to and befriended for a brief time. "Didn't she go to another region with her mother?"

"Yep. She actually went to the Kalos Region. And she too is starting her journey soon. She plans on being a Pokémon Coordinator as well. I thought it would be fun to compete against her," she finished with a grin.

"That's great! Having a rival can really spur you on to get better! Or so I've heard," Ash replied back grinning as well.

"So you've heard? Don't you have enough rivals in Gary and Jonathan?"

"Nah," Ash replied his mood dimming slightly. "I did consider them rivals when I started my journey, but I have a different motivation now."

Leaf noticed his falling mood and was tactful enough to not question him on his statement despite her curiosity. Instead, she changed the topic. "So, where is your room?"

"It's room 27A. What about yours?"

"I'm sharing the room with Professor Sycamore since I am travelling with him. Ours is room 2B. It's one of the most luxurious ones unlike yours which is most probably a simple room given to the trainers," she finished with a frown.

"That suits me fine, Leaf," Ash laughed. "I prefer it actually. I don't know what I'd do with a luxurious room to be honest. As long as there is enough place for my pokémon and I, I am happy."

"Then you needn't worry, Ash," Professor Sycamore said. "All rooms on the S.S. Anne are big enough to accommodate even a Snorlax."

"What? Seriously?! This I have to see!" Ash exclaimed. "It was nice meeting you Professor Sycamore, but I think I'll go and check my room out. I want to see the schedule for the tournament. And see if there's a training room my pokémon can use. Bye, Leaf! I'll see you later, alright?"

"Bye, Ash. You better do well at the tournament! I'm putting money on you," Leaf smirked causing Ash to snort.

"Yes, it was nice to meet you, Ash. Perhaps we will meet again during the trip."

Ash asked around for the location of his room and made his way towards it. As he entered the corridor where his room was situated, he bumped into a girl around his age. She was slender with had grey eyes, wearing black trousers along with a black top and a long black V-shaped cloak, showing a hint of cleavage. But the thing that got Ash's attention the most was her long, wavy, creamy blonde hair. It swayed slightly as she walked and Ash was almost mesmerized by it. The two trainers exchanged a polite hello before walking to their respective destinations. Those destinations, coincidentally, were in the same direction causing the two to giggle at the slightly awkward situation they found themselves in.

They walked together silently for a few seconds before Ash stopped at the door marked as 27A. As he unlocked the door, he heard another door close by being unlocked and being curious, he turned to see the girl unlocking the door to the room opposite his. Seeing this, Ash started a conversation.

"It looks like we'll be neighbours."

"Does look like that. Are you here to go to the Kalos region or are you competing at the tournament?" she asked curiously.

"I'm competing at the tournament. I'll get off the ship after it gets over, probably at Lavender Town. What about you?"

"The same. I actually came here all the way from the Sinnoh Region to compete. My name is Cynthia," she introduced herself holding out her hand. "I look forward to facing you at the tournament."

"Hi, my name is Ash Ketchum," Ash shook her hand. "And this is my starter Pikachu."

" **Pi Pikachu**!" the tiny mouse pokémon waved at her from his spot at Ash's shoulder.

"Hello to you too, Pikachu," Cynthia smiled beautifully. "May I?" she asked as she lifted her hand for permission.

"That's really up to Pikachu here," Ash grinned at her. He could see she loved pokémon as much as he did. Something Pikachu must have felt as well as he leant into her touch and allowed her to scratch his head. "So, what are you doing here all the way from the Sinnoh Region?"

"Professor Rowan suggested I come here. He said it's a big tournament here and all the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and the Champion will be in attendance to scout the potential of the upcoming trainers. I don't know if you know this or not, but the Sinnoh Region has just started its own version of the Pokémon League and does not have an Elite Four or a Champion as such and the Gym Leaders are inexperienced as well. I want to hear the opinion of the elite trainers that are here. And I want a chance to meet my idol," she finished with stars in her eyes.

Ash laughed seeing her excitement. "I know that feeling," Ash commented. "Who is your idol?" he asked interested in her answer.

"The Champion, Lance," she replied with reverence in her voice.

"Oh, yes!" Ash agreed his voice full of remembrance causing his conversation partner to look at him sharply. Her suspicions were confirmed when he continued. "He is someone you don't ever forget meeting. His personality is magnetic and he is down to earth for such a popular figure."

"You've met him?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," Ash replied, his enthusiasm dimming slightly as he remembered how he met the champion. "Let's just say that I got involved in something I should not have and he ended up saving my life. Literally."

Something about Ash's voice stopped Cynthia from questioning him further. So to distract him, she decided to change the topic. "Hey, you want to find out more information about the tournament together?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Ash smiled at her. "Why don't we go and keep our bags in our rooms and settle in?"

"Sure. Let's meet here in, say half an hour?" she asked.

"Alright, see you then!"

With one last smile at each other, they entered their respective rooms. Ash let you a whistle on seeing the room. Professor Sycamore was not kidding when he said that even a Snorlax can fit inside one of these rooms for it was absolutely massive. The rooms were probably designed with the pokémon in mind, Ash mused since trainers competing in the tournament were given these rooms and their pokémon could comfortably rest here outside the pokeball. Which is what Ash did as he released all his pokémon.

Together they explored the room. There was a cupboard for Ash to keep his clothes. There were a couple of magnificent perches hanging above the bed for the bird pokémon to comfortably rest. Speaking of the bed, it was absolutely massive. If Ash doubled the size of the bed in his room, it would still be smaller than the bed here. At the side was a massive aquarium for the water pokémon. Beautiful paintings hung on the walls of the room. The room was the most luxurious one Ash had seen in his life which led him to wonder exactly how luxurious the room Leaf stayed in would be.

Once done, Ash decided to have a little talk with all his pokémon. "Listen everyone." Once he was sure that he had the attention of all his pokémon, he continued. "From what I have been able to gather, this tournament is even bigger than what we thought it would be. Only the best of the best trainers have made it, so expect really difficult matches. This is our first chance to show our mettle to the world. Let's do this!" Ash exclaimed causing his pokémon to let out a cheer. They lounged around for a while before it was time to meet Cynthia.

On exiting the room, he had to wait for a couple of minutes before he was joined by the blonde beauty from the Sinnoh Region (not that Ash would tell her that out loud). Together, they went to the area where the tournament would be held. The ship was split up in seven decks. The first floor was where the dignitaries stayed and it was also where Leaf and Professor Sycamore were staying. The second floor was where the trainers competing in the tournament were staying. They were not told about what was on the next three floors but the floor after that was where the tournament was going to be held. The last floor was of course where the staff were staying.

When they entered the floor, they looked around trying to get a clue about where to go. Trainers were moving around talking to each other, laughter and excitement filling the air. Before they could make a decision, they heard someone calling out Ash's name.

Turning to the voice, Ash was surprised to see it was Misty who had called him. Walking towards her with Cynthia, he greeted the aspiring water pokémon master. "Hi, Misty. How have you been?" he asked politely as he exchanged a brief hug with her.

"I am good!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "And how have you been? Lt. Surge was telling me of your battle with him. He seems mighty impressed, something that is no easy feat."

"Haha, well.." Ash mumbled bashfully. Seeing this, Misty rolled her eyes. Same old Ash.

"Are you on such good terms with all Gym Leaders?" Cynthia asked curiously. Misty looked at the new comer with interest, having not seen her before. Ash, noticing this, decided to introduce the two girls to each other.

"Well, yeah," Ash admitted. "There is something about having a good battle with someone that makes you form a bond with them. Cynthia, this is Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader. Misty, this is Cynthia, she is from the Sinnoh Region."

"Hi!" Misty exclaimed as she thrust her hand forward for a handshake. "Nice to meet you! What are you doing here all the way from Sinnoh?"

"Nice to meet you too," Cynthia smiled. "As I told Ash, the Sinnoh League has just started. While I have overcome any challenge I have faced in Sinnoh so far, I want to test myself against those of an already established League. I also want to hear the opinion of you guys. The Gym Leaders of Kanto, the Elite Four, and if possible, even Lance," she finished dreamily causing Misty to laugh.

"I'm sure you'll get to know your answer by the end of the week," she said cheekily.

"Hey, Misty!" Ash commented. "You seem oddly cheerful. You were never this happy in Cerulean City."

"That's because I recently caught a pokémon I have wanted since childhood!" she said showing a V with her fingers causing both Ash and Cynthia to lean forward in anticipation. Misty smirked at them before releasing the pokémon. The pokémon that stood in front of them was small, barely a foot tall. What made it easily recognisable was that it resembled a blue coloured turtle. The only odd thing about it was the black-coloured sunglasses it was wearing.

"A Squirtle!" Cynthia exclaimed softly. Her awe was a little understandable since she was not from the Kanto region and Squirtle was well-known to be one of the starter pokémon.

"Yep!" Misty said proudly.

"Where did you find it?" Ash asked curiously. If there were more Squirtle available in the wild, he would love to catch one.

"We had received a report from an Officer Jenny telling us that a group of Squirtle were creating havoc among the general populace. Being the aspiring water pokémon master I am, I went to check it out. End result, I have a new Squirtle on my team!" she grinned.

"What about the rest of the Squirtles?" Ash and Cynthia asked in sync causing them to look at each other in surprise and blush slightly and Misty to laugh.

"They have been sent to a rehabilitation centre," Misty said with a frown. "They have trouble trusting humans. Are you both looking for a water pokémon?"

"Yes," both rookie trainers admitted.

"I'm sure you will find them," Misty said optimistically. "There are a lot of powerful water-type pokémon out there." When both Ash and Cynthia nodded in agreement, she continued. "Do you know the details of the tournament?" On seeing the negative response of both the trainers, she asked them to follow her. She took them to another part of the room with all three of them chatting amicably.

Cynthia, however, stopped midway causing Ash and Misty to look back at her and laugh at her slack-jawed expression. Looking at where she was staring, Ash understood her awe. Misty was leading them to a table where the Gym Leaders of the Kanto Region along with the Elite Four were gathered. And sitting in the middle of the table was Lance, who by the looks of it had taken notice of the little group approaching the table.

"Ash!" he exclaimed, his voice as authoritative as Ash remembered it being. "How have you been? Lt. Surge was just telling us about your battle with him. He has nothing but high praise for your Dratini!" he finished with a smirk on his face.

"Yes, Dratini is one of my most powerful pokémon," Ash acknowledged. "Lt. Surge had to sacrifice one of his pokémon to knock him out."

"Heh, you left me with no choice but to do it, brat!" Lt. Surge said. "That Dratini was too powerful. I doubt it if even my Manectric could have defeated it."

"That's what I like to hear!" Lance laughed. "I'd love to see that Dratini in action in the tournament!"

"You have a Dratini?" Cynthia asked in surprise.

"Yes. I want to see how it compares with your dragon-type pokémon," Ash commented excitedly causing Cynthia to look at him in surprise. "Yes, I figured it out. The way you referred to Lance as your idol was a big hint. It wasn't just the _'oh he is the Champion; he is so awesome'_ idolisation. You looked up to him for more than just that, you looked up to him as a trainer."

Cynthia smirked. "I thought you would make a wonderful opponent to battle. I don't think I have faced an opponent as brilliant as you, yet. Yes, I have a Gible. And the thought of a battle with your Dratini gets my blood pumping, I have to admit that!"

"This is brilliant!" Lance crowed. "To see a battle between the two of you will be exhilarating, I can already tell! I just hope you guys will be in the same tournament!" This statement caused both the rookie trainers to look at Lance questioningly.

"What do you mean by the same tournament? Isn't there just one tournament?" Ash asked with Cynthia nodding alongside him.

"Nope. It doesn't make sense to do so. A trainer who has won two badges, no matter how promising, has no chance against a trainer who has won all 8. So, it makes no sense to pit them against each other. Thus, there will be three tournaments. One is for trainers who have won up to three gym badges, the other is for trainers with 4-6 badges, and the last is for trainers who have either 7 or 8 badges.

Accordingly, the week is split. The tournament of for those with 7 or 8 badges will be held on the second and the third days of the trip. For those with 4-6 badges, the tournament will be held on days 4 and 5. And for those with up to 3 badges, the tournament will be held on the last two days before the cruise docks at Lavender Town for most of us to disembark."

"That makes sense," Cynthia commented. "But won't it be better viewing if the trainers with the most badges fought on the last days of the trip?"

"Not really. The spectators will want the best battles at the beginning. Then they will relax and only the enthusiasts will watch the other tournaments." Lt. Surge commented. "Idiots. But that's what you get if the majority of the spectators are rich people."

"True," Lance said. "Now, tell me your names and the category you belong to. I need to mark it in the list I have. I will then assign you your training rooms."

"Training rooms?" Ash and Cynthia parroted.

"Yes. If you have 5 days for the tournament, you can easily train your pokémon some more. We have one training room assigned for two trainers. The two trainers will then have to coordinate with each other about who will have access to the training room and for how long." Ash and Cynthia nodded in agreement before giving their names. Both had won 3 badges in their respective regions and would compete against each other. Ash was assigned training room 52 and Cynthia was assigned room 57, both on the fifth floor.

Bidding the others goodbye, they went their separate ways. Ash and Cynthia walked with each other to the fifth floor where their training rooms were located. It seemed like both trainers had the same idea of getting some training in. They split up once they reached there as Ash walked towards the training room he was assigned. Standing outside the door to room number 52, Ash took out his pokedex and put it in the correct slot for it to be scanned. It served as an identifier and also as a key to unlock the training facility.

On entering, Ash was once again left a little surprised by the sheer size of the room. He knew it was built with the purpose of allowing even the largest pokémon to train inside. He released all his pokémon telling them that it was time to train. Lance had already given them permission to go all out while training so Ash told his pokémon not to worry about holding back. However, before they could start training, his pokémon brought his attention to something on the far side of the room. He squinted his eyes to see something lying on the floor. Taking a closer look, Ash observed it to be a small, orange, quadruped, canine pokémon with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle and tail were cream-coloured, and there was an additional tuft on top of its head.

As raised his eyebrows on seeing that pokémon. He came to the conclusion that it was probably the pokémon of the trainer who had been assigned the same room as Ash. What that did not explain was the Pokémon's condition. It had small bruises on its body and seemed absolutely exhausted. Ash frowned as he realised that the trainer was not in the room nor were any other pokémon. Something wasn't adding up.

Ash never liked seeing any pokémon hurt and alone and so he began to help it. He crushed some Oran berries and gently fed the puppy pokémon. The Oran Berries would help the pokémon regain some of its energy as well as help with the bruising. It seemed to be working as the pokémon slowly opened its eyes. On seeing Ash and his pokémon surrounding it, the pokémon quickly backed away in fear. This caused Ash and his pokémon to narrow their eyes since they saw the movement and immediately started thinking of reasons why it behaved like that. None of the conclusions they were coming up with were pleasant.

"Hi Growlithe," Ash said gently. "My name is Ash, and these are my pokémon – Pikachu, Floette, Umbreon, Dratini, and Kadabra. We have also been given permission to use this room for training and found you lying down when we entered it." Unknown to Ash, as he was giving his explanation to the frightened Growlithe, Kadabra's eyes were glowing with his psychic powers.

The Growlithe nodded hesitantly at Ash's explanation before standing on wobbly legs and moving away from the group warily. It swayed to one corner of the room before opening its mouth and firing an Ember at the wall. It cut off the power of the Ember, only to do so again. It continued shooting Embers from its mouth and not stopping despite its obvious exhaustion. Ash and his pokémon looked on in concern wondering what in Mew's name was that Growlithe doing.

' _Friend, Trainer,'_ Kadabra projected and Ash knew that his psi pokémon was talking to him as well as the rest of the pokémon with how they all turned to him.

"What is it?"

' _I peeked into the Growlithe's mind,'_ Kadabra admitted and continued talking before Ash could voice his disapproval. _'I know you don't like it when I read other's minds without their permission, but that Growlithe's reaction had me cautious. And it's good that I did. You remember that reprobate Damien?'_

"Yes," Ash answered with a smile at Kadabra's description of the trainer. The psi pokémon found himself above using common abuses and always came up with words like reprobate to describe those he did not like. Ash found it hilarious to hear Kadabra talk like that and often wondered where he came up with such words as Ash never used them. "There's no way I'll forget that bastard." Unlike Kadabra, Ash had no issues using common slang words.

' _The Growlithe belongs to him,'_ he said gravely. Leaving that sentence hanging for a couple of seconds to let the rest of them understand what he was saying, he continued. _'The Growlithe was apparently bought by that degenerate's father from a breeder as replacement for the Charmander.'_ Those who knew Kadabra could hear the undertone of anger in his voice. _'The Growlithe has been tasked to learn Flamethrower as in the words of the scoundrel, at least its predecessor, useless as it was, could use that move.'_

Kadabra's words caused different reactions among the different pokémon. While Floette and Dratini just looked at the puppy pokémon with sadness, Pikachu's cheeks started sparking in anger. But what was cause for alarm was the sudden drop in temperature caused by Umbreon's anger. The Moonlight pokémon seemed livid and dark energy seemed to be oozing out of her. She could not believe these humans at times.

 _How could they be so cruel? Was the death of the Charmander not enough?_

"Eon"

 _And that trainer did not even have the nerve to help train the poor Growlithe?! Did he really expect some miracle causing it to magically learn the move?!_

"Breon"

 _I mean, look at friend Ash. He spent so much time helping us get more powerful. He told us exactly what to do to learn something!_

"Umbreon!"

 _And even if we didn't get it in the first go, he only encouraged us. He certainly never abandoned us to do it on our own!_

"UMBREON!" the dark-type pokémon jumped at the sudden shout and looked at her trainer questioningly. Said trainer was looking at her in a mixture of wariness and concern causing Umbreon to wonder why. She got her answer as she saw thin wafts of darkness energy escaping her body in anger. Umbreon looked at them in surprise as it had never happened before. As surprise took over her anger, the waves of energy receded back into her.

"Are you okay, Umbreon" Ash asked.

She just nodded her head still wondering what is going on.

"It's alright," her trainer said soothingly. _That's another one of the many things I likes about him, he knows how to calm us down._ "It's because you have recently evolved. Even Pikachu's cheeks were sparking. You remember that, right?" She nodded again half-heartedly. _But friend Pikachu's cheeks sparked but nothing else. No one was in danger of getting shocked when he was angry._ "How long has he spent learning to control his energy?" her trainer seemed amused as he was asking these questions causing her to frown. _Here is a serious problem and he is joking around? Why I ought to.._ but before she could finish her thought, Ash continued. "And how long has it been since you accessed the dark-energy in your body?" She wondered if he had a point asking all these questions. She knew when she had accessed that energy for the first time, it has been 4 days since. Why was he asking such…Oh! She looked away from the rest of her family as she stared at the ground in embarrassment. She turned to furiously glare at everyone else when she heard them sniggering at her. The sniggering didn't abate. At all.

"Don't worry," the only human in the room said as he petted her on her head. _Ah, that's the spot_ , she thought happily. She absolutely loved it when he scratched her there. Of all the reasons why she loves her trainer, his head scratching ability has to be at the top! "This is why I am training you guys to control that energy in your body. I am sure that you will have decent control in a few days and such instances won't happen again.

 _What are we talking about again?_ She wondered as her mind went numb with pleasure from the head scratching. _Oh, he went to the ears!_ She crowed internally. She realised that her friend had stopped talking and was waiting for a reply. So with great difficulty, she concentrated on what he was saying. She realised that he was talking sense, so she gave him a nod. She almost let out a whine when he got up and stopped the head scratching. She thought of coaxing him for some more before remembering what Kadabra had said and why she was so angry in the first place.

"I'm guessing we can't do anything for Growlithe at the moment?" Friend trainer's voice was unusually grave.

She cocked her head in confusion. She had assumed that he would do his best to help that poor fire-type pokémon. She looked around to see that same confusion on the faces of the rest of the pokémon other than Kadabra. She envied his brains at times. He was ridiculously smart and conversed with friend trainer the most. But he also made conversations between her and her human much simpler so she forgave him. In the end, envious or not, he was a part of her pack.

' _Indeed. There is no proof against Damien. Growlithe has no visible signs of abuse and that person, no matter how much I may dislike him, is smart enough to not leave anything that can get him arrested.'_ Ah, so that explained it. And no matter how much she did not want to admit it, they were right.

"Okay, everyone. Let's start training. Warm up with the dodging exercise for an hour or so and then continue with what you were training in." She nodded before moving to a different part of the room to start the dodging exercise. She loved her new body, she felt so strong in it. She instinctively knew that she could take many more hits now than what she could do before, that was her greatest improvement. And the speed boost made her the current fastest pokémon in the pack, something she loved teasing that mouse with.

Any further thought was cut off as she saw an electric attack coming at her from two different sources. _Oh, it is on!_ She thought excitedly as she nimbly stepped aside and avoided the two attacks with ease born from months of practice. She opened her mouth and released energy in the form of stars at the mouse pokémon. They had formed a rivalry since her evolution, with him not liking her newfound power and with her trying to establish herself as the leader of the pack. The stars, however, were blasted away and the mouse was forced to dodge to attack leaves sent at it by the fairy. Now that was one pokémon she got along with really well! Maybe it was because she too was a girl!

The mock fight continued for a while and Umbreon loved the work out. She loved the adrenaline rush that came with a fight and she was sure that the rest of the pokémon in the pack loved it as well. There was a reason they all wanted to get stronger, to fight strong opponents. She took some time to relax her body and calm her mind, a necessity when trying to learn new moves. As she was resting, she looked around the room to see what the rest were doing. The rest of the pokémon seemed to be doing the same as her. Friend trainer Ash however was talking to the Growlithe. Was he coaching the pokémon? It was highly possible. He was wonderful like that, he truly loved pokémon.

Once calm, she focused on the dark energy her body was filled with. The incident in the morning showed her that she had much more energy inside her than what she thought. Perhaps not much as that mouse, or even the dragon, but it was a lot more than what she was assuming. Which was both good and bad. Good since it showed her how powerful she can be once she controls that power and trains with it to make it grow even more. Bad since it would take a lot of time to control.

She called out the energy inside her body and tried directing it to her mouth. It was not as easy as she thought it would be since the energy wanted to be spread evenly throughout her body. She was trying to force it to shift to her mouth but it was resisting. She had managed to make some progress but it wasn't enough for her to hold in her jaw, forget about actually biting with it.

 _Gah, this is so frustrating!_ She thought after a little more than an hour of trying, and failing. She had not made any progress at all! She noticed energy leaking from her body due to her frustration and took deep breaths to calm down. One of the first things friend trainer Ash had taught her was to keep a calm mind and that she can never learn anything if she is frustrated.

Once calmershe swallowed her pride and went to the mouse to ask for his help. As Ash had said, he had the most experience in controlling energy. And he was the leader of the pack for a reason. No matter how much she may want to take that position, she acknowledged him as a leader. While walking to Pikachu, a flash of fire caught her eye and she turned to see a noticeably bigger than before fire from the Growlithe. A swell of love and pride welled up inside her for trainer for helping the poor pokémon as much as he could.

Talking with Pikachu was more like an exchange of information. He needed help with drawing energy from the air, something she understood with how difficult it was for her to learn. But with her help, Pikachu had almost learnt how to draw in the energy, so he had almost finished a third of the work. He'll soon start working on segregating the various energies he'll draw in and find out which is the bug-type energy he is looking for.

She too had gained some insight about how to go about learning Bite. According to the mouse, you can never force the energy to do your bidding. It is a part of you. So, you have to be gentle with it, coax it, work with it. She tried implementing it. This time when she called her powers, she didn't try to force it to her mouth. She tried directing it there and was surprised to see the immediate improvement. Seeing the result, she tried repeating the success with renewed vigour. _I am going to master this move, and soon! It's embarrassing being a dark-type pokémon and not knowing a single dark-type attack._

Meanwhile, Umbreon had guessed correctly. Ash had decided on helping the Growlithe. Seeing how exhausted it looked and considering the fact that it had used so much energy that it had fallen unconscious, he knew it needed some nourishment. Carefully preparing a bowl of food, he generously sprinkling some Sitrus Berries on it. Sitrus berries were rare, but their usefulness could not be denied. Professor Oak had told him that feeding a couple of these berries to any pokémon could restore their health by half!

As he approached the fire-type pokémon, he noticed it shying away from him, a scared look on its face. A surge of anger swept across Ash but he buried that inside choosing to focus on helping the abused pokémon. Ash kept the bowl of food in front of it and slowly backed away with his hands raised. Knowing that the Growlithe would not eat unless prompted, Ash started talking in a calm, gentle voice.

"You need to eat, Growlithe. You are exhausted and you need to recover your energy." Seeing his words had absolutely no effect and the puppy pokémon getting ready to fire another Ember, he decided to manipulate it slightly. He didn't know if it was so persistent with trying to learn Flamethrower because of loyalty towards Damien, or fear. It could be either since the Growlithe species were known for their fierce loyalty towards their trainer, but with how scared the Growlithe looked in front of another human, it was probably the latter. Whatever the case, he could use it to his advantage. "If you don't recover your energy, how do you expect to learn the new attack?" he questioned and smiled slightly at seeing Growlithe's ears perk up slightly. "What good would it be if you exhaust yourself in the next 5 minutes and fall unconscious as you were when I entered the room? Better you eat now and practice for longer."

He could see Growlithe contemplating his words. From what Ash had experienced so far, he knew that logic often prevailed over everything else. As was the case here. Growlithe thought about Ash's words for a minute or so before reluctantly walking to the bowl to start eating. His surprise and subsequent joy at what Ash presumed to be the taste of the food made his heart ache for the little guy. To think that he would enjoy standard pokémon food found at any Pokemart in such a manner spoke volumes of the kind of food he had been forced to eat till now. On a reflex, Ash's hand went out to pet the pokémon as it was eating.

Growlithe had never felt this weird in his short life. From what little he had been able to gather, he had been born in a different region to someone called a breeder. For a short amount of time, he had been happy. He had friends to play with, good food to eat, and parents who loved him and he loved them back. Then the breeder had said that a trainer wanted him. He was so excited! The older pokémon at home had told him stories of trainer and their pokémon and how they battled their way to the top. He would get strong! Unfortunately, that was when his nightmare began.

The new trainer was everything Growlithe imagined him **not** to be. He was cruel. Oh, how he was cruel! The good food he had before? Gone. Love of his parents? Gone. Friends he could play with? Gone. He thought he could make new friends here, but the rest of the pokémon were as terrified as he was. And that Nidoking! Growlithe shuddered just thinking about him! He was often hurt. He would be pushed far beyond what he could do. He was forced to do so. He was often hungry. The medicines that trainer put on him healed his injuries but did nothing to stop the hunger he felt.

Today, he had been told to learn flamethrower. Apparently, his previous fire-type pokémon could use it efficiently. So, he was locked in a room and left to practice the move. Before leaving, he had been warned that if he didn't learn flamethrower in reasonable time, the consequences would be dire. He could not do much on the ship but once they got off a week later, Nidoking would have free reign to do as he wanted. Growlithe was too terrified of that idea to even think about it. So, he had put in his all in learning that move. So much so that he had fallen unconscious due to a lack of energy.

He had woken up feeling slightly refreshed, which surprised him. Opening his eyes, he saw another human with a bunch of pokémon surrounding him. Seeing them, he instinctively backed away from them in fear. The human started speaking to him explaining why they were surrounding him. This was a novel experience for him as he had never been given an explanation since so long, but the thing that struck him the most was the gentleness with which the human was speaking with him. A little weirded out and still wary of the bunch, he backed away from them and decided to continue his training.

He kept an eye on the new bunch. What surprised him was how close they were to each other. You could easily see the bond there. And the way the human interacted with them was so weird! He spoke with them softly, he gently petted their heads, and his pokémon looked at him with adoration rather than fear! Then the pokémon started sparring. When he first saw two electric attacks heading towards that black pokémon, he thought she was being disciplined for some reason. But then she dodged the attacks and used one of her own! He then realised that all 5 of them were using this as some kind of dodging exercise! It looked like so much fun!

He then saw the human approaching him with a bowl. He immediately tensed wondering what he was doing but the human kept the bowl in front of him and walked away. He then advised him to eat to recover energy or something like that but Growlithe didn't care about that! He had been offered food! And it smelt so good! But he knew trainer had ordered him not to eat unless he was given food by trainer himself. So, he ignored the food and decided to continue training.

The human then mentioned how he would need food to continue training. What he said was true, Growlithe acknowledged that. He was now stuck between a river and a pond (he never liked water at all!) On one hand, if he ate food, trainer would be mad. On the other, if he didn't learn flamethrower, he would be mad as well. Thinking about it, he decided that trainer may not come to know if he ate food here, but he would definitely know if he didn't learn flamethrower. So, with that thought, he decided to eat.

As he took his first bite, he paused. He had forgotten how tasty food could be! It was so delicious! He started eating with a renewed vigour absolutely loving this feeling of filling his stomach! He froze however when he felt a hand on his head. But that hand was gentle and soothing. It rubbed his head that sent pleasure down his spine. It had been so long since he felt this feeling that he had forgotten it existed. An unbidden sound of pleasure escaped him and a couple of tears leaked out of his eyes. The human continued doing this and the longer he did it, the more that feeling deepened and more tears leaked out of his eyes. Once he regained some control over himself, he looked up to see the human looking at him with such a sad expression on his face. He understood it. The human was not upset by him; he was upset for him! The human gave him a small smile and advised him to continue eating. He backed away from him and he felt a pang of loss. Ignoring him, he continued eating the food. Once he was done eating, and it didn't take long to finish the food with how hungry he was, he went back to training.

The training was frustrating. No matter how hard he tried, he was no closer to learning Flamethrower. But the thought of what Nidoking would do to him if he didn't learn the move was enough to keep him going. However, before long, the human sat down next to him.

"You're doing it wrong. Continuously shooting Embers from your mouth would help you achieve nothing. You need to build up energy in your stomach. Try concentrating as much energy as you can before expelling it when you can't hold it in anymore," he instructed gently.

Growlithe thought about it before deciding to listen to the human. Maybe he would be like those trainers the old pokémon had told him about, those who help pokémon grow stronger. He built up energy inside him as he normally did for Ember but this time, he continued increasing it. He continued doing so till it became painful to hold more energy and then released it in a brilliant burst of flame. It was already bigger and hotter than any ember attack he had used before. To think that he had achieved such a result with just one instruction by the human next to him! Said human just smiled at him and moved to join his pokémon.

Ash contemplated about the Growlithe as he walked to check on the progress of his pokémon. It was talented, no doubt about that. To see such a massive improvement with a single try was insane! He checked up on Dratini whose tail was glowing green with a scale like pattern being formed around it. The tail continued glowing for a couple of seconds before going back to normal. Giving him a few encouraging words, he walked towards the rest of his pokémon. Floette was sending her energy to different parts of her body at random making her look like a disco light. It was slightly disconcerting but Ash had tasked her with doing so till she could send the energy to any part of her body at moment's notice. Pikachu was busy meditating, and Umbreon's jaw was glowing slightly. Kadabra was…reading once again and by the look on his face, he did not want to be disturbed. Seeing them hard at work, he decided not to disturb them. He still walked around in case any of his pokémon needed his help.

The next few hours passed by this way. It was quiet if one ignored the sounds of the roaring fire coming from Growlithe's mouth. The peace, however, was broken by the sound of the door opening. In walked a boy around Ash's age. He was dressed stylishly but his most notable feature was his blue-coloured hair and the smug smile he wore on his face.

"Hi there," he greeted. "My name is Damian. I guess you are the trainer I am to share the room with?"

"Yes," Ash replied with a blank expression on his face. Internally, he was wondering how it was possible for anyone to have more arrogance in their voice than Gary. "We should discuss how we are to split up using this room."

"There is no need for that! My pokémon are strong enough to win that competition without this additional training. The only pokémon of mine that needs to be trained is that Growlithe. I got him recently, you see, so he's pretty useless right now," Damian finished with a conspiratorial wink causing Ash to feel like throwing up.

"So, does that mean I get to use the room as I see fit?" he asked, somehow keeping his tone polite.

"Yes, though I have a favour to ask of you. You can use the room the entire day if you want as long as you let Growlithe use it as well. Fair deal, isn't it?"

"Yes, how generous of you," Ash smiled out forcefully.

"I know, right?" Damian commented arrogantly. "If that's the deal, then I'll come for Growlithe later. Later." With that, he walked out of the room without sparing those left with a second glance. Once he was gone, Ash's neutral expression melted away as a cold smile swept across his face.

"Yes, you will see me later. When you do, all your crimes will be exposed to the entire world. You will not expect it coming which will make seeing your expression as it happens even sweeter." It was a very unlike Ash expression but seeing Growlithe's pain and remembering Charmander's death had caused the normally sweet Ash to have dark thoughts. Putting them to the back of his mind for now, he focused back on training.

The remaining days till the competition Ash was participating in passed by in a blur. A few noteworthy things did happen. Umbreon had gotten extremely close to learning Bite. In fact, for most trainers, she would have learnt Bite but Ash was particular. He wanted his pokémon to master a move to a certain level before moving to the next one. Other than that, Dratini could now hold draconic energy in his tail for up to ten seconds now. He was just working on improving the strength behind his Dragon Tail. Floette had started working on sending her energy to multiple parts of her body, the next step in learning Dazzling Gleam.

But the one that confused Ash the most was Kadabra. He had started learning Iron Tail with a zeal that he had never seen in the psi pokémon before. He normally shied away from physical labour. Another odd thing was that other than learning and mastering Iron Tail (his dedication was really something else!) he would read very little and spend most of the time sleeping. When Ash questioned him about it, all he would say is that he would explain later. Ash trusted him, so he didn't push him further.

Ash also wondered at Growlithe's motivation for learning Flamethrower. He was aware that Growlithe was a young pokémon but the strides he had made in learning the attack in the last four days were nothing short of outstanding. He never expected it. While he had not learnt the move, he had made significant progress. In fact, if he were to continue training this way, Ash predicted he would have learnt the move in less than a week!

Ash wanted to see the other competitions, he wanted to scope out the competition and see if he could pick up on some valuable techniques and tactics, but he was loath to leave the fire-type pokémon alone. So, he made the difficult choice of skipping those competitions to spend time with the Growlithe. Ash had very little contact with other people since he entered the room for the first time. He did bump into Cynthia every day since they were neighbours and every time they met, they would talk to each other for a little while. Slowly, a friendship was developing between the two. He also did speak with Leaf and Professor Sycamore a couple of times as well. He was often asked why he was not watching the competitions, and he always replied by saying that he needed to train. None of the others were fooled. They knew by the sad smile on Ash's face that there was more to the story but they were tactful enough not to push him on it.

The sacrifice was worth it in Ash's opinion. He had actually formed a bond with Growlithe, a small kinship of a sort. He would feed him, pet him, and instruct him slightly in learning Flamethrower. Those moments were precious in Ash's mind as he could see how much those small gestures meant to the puppy pokémon.

Of course, thinking about notable events and interaction with others, Ash could not forget a particular incident that happened just yesterday. It was probably the most significant event he had been a part of since the start of his journey.

 **FLASHBACK**

Ash was having lunch with his pokémon and Growlithe. His expression on experiencing just a normal lunch was both heart wrenching and joyful to witness. He looked so lost on the first day but that confusion turned to a mix of so many emotions when he saw Ash and his team casually chatting with each other while eating. They played little pranks on each other, cracked jokes, and in general had a fun and relaxing conversation. They tried to involve the puppy pokémon as well but he was too timid to participate. And scared. That emotion stood out the most. But over the last few days, they had broken down the barriers he had built and he soon started talking like he was a part of the small group. Ash's pokémon had been really patient with him as well and Ash could not be prouder of them for it.

However, lunch was interrupted by a beeping sound from Ash's PokeNav. Confused, Ash took it out. The beeping was not the normal alarm when someone called him. On seeing what it was, Ash immediately stood up his body shaking with excitement and nervous energy. "Guys, the egg is about to hatch!" he exclaimed. He had utilised a nifty feature of the incubator that connected it to the PokeNav. When the incubator beeped to indicate that the egg is close to being hatched, a signal was sent to the PokeNav to inform Ash of the same. Ah, he loved technology even if he didn't understand it.

Quickly recalling all his pokémon, he rushed out of the door but not before telling Growlithe that he would be busy for the next few hours. While he wished that he could take Growlithe along with him to see the hatching of the egg, he knew it was not feasible. As close as Growlithe had become with the group, he was not Ash's pokémon. Quickly discarding that thought, he rushed to his room. He couldn't wait to see what the egg would hatch into! It had been so long since he had found the egg. He still remembered how fortunate he felt when he was allowed to keep the egg.

Recalling why he was allowed to keep the egg caused Ash to have a mild panic attack. He remembered Bill telling him that the egg could be mentally damaged due to the incident at the Pokémon Village. He quickly called out Kadabra and asked him to go get Professor Sycamore. Kadabra didn't question the order and simply teleported away.

Reaching the corridor of his room, Ash huffed and puffed as he drew in deep gulps of air. As he got air back into his lungs, the air around him distorted and from that came Kadabra along with Professor Sycamore, Brock, and Lance.

"Kadabra told us what is happening, let us hurry," Lance said and Ash nodded in agreement. Ash quickly entered his room before stopping when he realised that none of the other people had entered after him.

"Go on, Ash," Brock said gently. "The hatching of an egg is an important process for both the trainer and the pokémon. It is when they imprint on each other for the first time."

"But," Ash started to object.

"We are right here," Professor Sycamore said. "If anything goes wrong, just holler."

Ash nodded and took a deep breath before shutting the door. He walked forward towards the incubator where the egg was shaking inside. He took out the egg and kept it in the middle of the bed. As he waited for the egg to hatch, he heard Kadabra talk in his mind.

' _Friend-trainer-Ash,'_ he said gently. _'Shouldn't you take out the rest of the pokémon?'_

' _Of course! I can't believe I forgot!'_ Ash exclaimed before releasing all his pokémon. The five of them came and stood around Ash as they waited for the egg to hatch. They waited with baited breath as the egg continued to shake. Minutes went by as the process continued before a crack appeared on the shell. This crack spread and more cracks were formed on the shell as the pokémon inside did its best to break free of the shell. Soon, the egg stopped shaking. There was peace for a few seconds before the egg shell suddenly burst into pieces and the baby pokémon came out.

It was a rhinoceros-like creature with a body covered in grey, rocky plates. Its underside and rear were smooth, and it had four short legs with two claws on each foot. It had a triangular head with narrow, red eyes, two fangs protruding from its upper jaw, and small, triangular openings on the upper sides. A spiked ridge ran along its back, and it had a single short horn on the tip of its snout.

For a moment, there was silence as Ash and his pokémon stared at the newly hatched pokémon in awe. The silence, however, was broken by the cry of the pokémon.

" **Rhy**!" it yelled as it charged forward straight into the arms of Ash, who laughed and hugged the tiny pokémon. He knew that Rhyhorn grow up to be nearly half the size of a grown up man, but this little one was barely the size of Ash's arm right now. Ash had never seen a newly hatched pokémon so he did not know that they were so small when they hatched. He was taken out of his thoughts when the Rhyhorn licked his cheek. Ash laughed again as the sensation tackled him.

"Hello, Rhyhorn!" Ash said brightly. The baby pokémon did not understand a word that Ash had said but it perked up immediately when he started speaking. "Would you like to meet the rest of your family?" he asked as he showed the rest of his pokémon to it. Rhyhorn looked at them blankly for a bit before realization dawned on it and it happily cried out its name as it wiggled in Ash's arms in an attempt to go meet them.

Ash laughed before setting him down on the bed. He looked at his pokémon who quickly climbed onto the bed with them. As the pokémon introduced themselves to the Rhyhorn, Ash took out his pokedex and pointed it at the Rhyhorn.

 **Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon.** **Strong, but not too bright, this Pokémon can shatter even a skyscraper with its charging Tackles. This Rhyhorn is female and has the ability Rock Head. This Rhyhorn knows the moves Horn Attack and Tail Whip. This Rhyhorn knows the egg move Dragon Rush, but it has not been unlocked yet.**

Ash smiled on seeing his pokémon bond together. It surprised him to see how gentle Umbreon was being when handling the Rhyhorn, or how Kadabra was using confusion to move her around in the air making her squeal with happiness. Ash walked out of the room to tell the others the good news. Once he opened the door, the three men sighed in relief on seeing Ash's smiling face.

"I'm guessing all went well?" Brock asked.

"Yes," Ash replied cheerfully. "The egg hatched into a Rhyhorn."

"A Rhyhorn, huh?" Brock asked with interest. Unsurprising since rock-type pokémon are his specialty. "They are good, strong pokémon when raised correctly. A bit on the slow side, but powerful indeed. And that dimness fades away when it evolves into a Rhydon."

"I know," Ash smiled. "Would you like to see her?" he asked.

"That would not be wise," Professor Sycamore said. "Since it is newly hatched, let her explore the world in the arms of her family. Only after a month or so should you allow her to meet new people and pokémon."

Ash nodded in agreement before bidding the others a goodbye. He then went inside to spend some more time bonding with his new pokémon.

 **FLASHBACK END**

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused his mind. Today was the first day of the competition and he needed to be at his best to win. He was confident that he had a shot at winning this, even if only the best of the best were said to be competing. Putting his game face on, he left his room and saw Cynthia leave hers at the same time. They both smiled at each other.

"Good morning, Ash," Cynthia greeted him. "Are you ready for the tournament?"

"Good morning," he replied in kind. "And yes, I have been looking forward to this tournament for a while."

Both young trainers made their way to the arena chatting with each other. They chatted about whatever came to their mind and had a general, inane conversation that only two teenagers can have. Once they entered the floor, they were quickly directed to where they were supposed to go.

They lined up with the other contestants at the arena. They looked around to see the terrain they would be battling in. Surprisingly, there was only one battlefield on the floor. Ash had expected more so that multiple battles could take place simultaneously and the competition could finish quickly. The battlefield was a flat terrain, nothing special about it. No rocks, grass, hell, not even a body of water was around. Ash wondered how those water pokémon who can't survive outside water would battle here.

The arena was surrounded by stands that could easily fit more than a thousand people. Again, Ash was astounded by the architecture of this place and the amount of work needed to make it. On one side of the arena, where the contestants were facing, were 12 chairs for the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four. 6 chairs were arranged one behind the other, probably to allow them to converse with each other easily. 11 of the seats were filled and glancing through them, Ash saw that Giovanni was not present for the tournament. Unsurprising, since the Viridian City Gym Leader was always reclusive.

Not much later Lance stood up and a hush fell across the arena among the few hundred spectators attending. With the angle of the sun, his imposing figure, and the cape fluttering behind him, he cut an imposing figure and looked every bit the Champion he is. He gave the crowd a sweeping glance and that was all it needed to hush the few silent whispers still prevalent in the crowd. Ash looked in awe and by the sound from his left, he knew Cynthia was equally awed as well. That man didn't even need to say a word to draw attention to himself. He could capture the audience's attention just by standing up. Ash wondered if he too could do something like this one day and he knew that Cynthia was thinking along those lines as well. She had made her admiration from Lance clear and it wasn't just because he was a master of dragon-type pokémon.

"Welcome, one and all. As you probably know, we are gathered here for a competition between some of our most promising young trainers. They have not been trainers for long, but they have all shown their potential as probable world class trainers. This competition will be another step for them in their journey, their first taste at professional competitions. Some of y'all will do well, some will not. In the end, there can only be one winner but that doesn't mean the rest are bad trainers. Do not think of this tournament as something you must win at all costs, use this as an opportunity to learn and grow and then apply your knowledge in the main tournament, the Pokémon League! After all, that is your aim is it not?! So be calm, have confidence in yourself and your pokémon, and most of all, have fun!" he finished to thunderous applause from the contestants and the crowd. No one could deny the Champion's charisma, or his ability to inspire other trainers. It was what led to the massive fan following he has and what leads trainers like Cynthia to travel from regions far away just to have a small glimpse at their idol.

Once the applause died down, he continued. "As you must have counted, there are 16 trainers who are participating in the tournament. Every round will be an elimination one and as you may have calculated, you need to beat just 4 trainers to win the tournament. The first two battles will be two-on-two battles, while the semi-final and the final will be a three-on-three battle. The first three matches will be held today while the finals will be tomorrow, so use your pokémon wisely." Once he saw them nodding in understanding, he pointed to an electronic board above them. "This board will randomly match trainers for a round. The tournament will start soon so be ready." He then pointed to a row of unoccupied seats to the side. "You guys can sit there while waiting for your match."

As the trainers moved towards the seating area, the electronic board activated. The faces of the trainers flashed multiple times across the screen for a few seconds before settling on two trainers, a boy and a girl. They moved to the battlefield while the rest of them settled themselves. The battle was interesting for sure, the trainers were a cut above what Ash had observed so far. Cynthia had observed the same, and her excitement was showing since she felt the trainers were around the same level as the current Gym Leaders at Sinnoh. Ash looked at her in surprise at that. Gym Leaders were supposed to be a cut above the rest. But after thinking about it, it made sense in a way. Cynthia did say she came here to test herself and that the Gym Leaders at Sinnoh were not as good as the Gym Leaders in other regions.

Most of the matches Ash saw were good but two stood out in his mind. Cynthia was as good as Ash had expected her to be as her Monferno completely crushed both its opponents without getting as much as a scratch. He also got his first glimpse at Damian's Nidoking. His enforcer. The one who kept the rest of his pokémon in line. Growlithe was terrified of him and with good reason. Even in the one battle he had seen the Drill Pokémon fight, he could tell that the Nidoking was an absolute monster. In fact, if Ash guessed correctly, the Nidoking was even more powerful than any of his pokémon.

Soon after their fight, it was Ash's turn. He was paired against a boy by the name of Wayne. As they walked towards the arena, Ash thought about his strategy for the tournament. He knew that there will not be enough time between consecutive matches for the pokémon to get a proper amount of rest. This meant that the pokémon he used in the first battle could not be used in the second, and the pokémon he used in the second could not be used in the semi-final. So, he thought of the various permutations and combinations. He knew he had to save Dratini for Cynthia's Gible. Despite the type advantage, he honestly doubted Flabebe's chance of defeating the Land Shark Pokémon, at least until she learnt Dazzling Gleam. But even if he left Dratini out, he still had enough options.

On reaching the battlefield, he and Wayne moved to stand at opposite ends of the ground. Once there, Ash took a proper look at his opponent. Well-worn shorts, shoes that looked to be used to walk a million miles, his opponent was well travelled. Like Ash himself was. Add that to the fact that he made it to the competition which implied his prowess as a trainer, this could turn out to be a difficult battle.

"Are both trainers ready?" the referee asked. On seeing the two trainers nod, he continued. "This is a two-on-two battle between Ash from Pallet Town and Wayne from Celadon City. No substitutions are allowed in the battle. When I say NOW, both trainers will send their first pokémon to the battle."

Making a decision, Ash palmed his starter's pokeball. On hearing the referee shout the word, he threw Pikachu's pokeball as psychic barriers sprung up around the trainers as well as the audience. Ash absentmindedly noted the timing of the barriers. That required some skill.

On seeing his opponent's pokémon, Ash could not help but let out a smirk. It was large and mostly brown. It had a long, pointed, pink beak, and a decorative red coxcomb on top of its head. Its narrow eyes have very small pupils, and do not appear to have coloured irises. Ash knew it was an ill-tempered pokémon, all Fearows were, but Pikachu had the natural advantage. And if Pikachu was to lose this battle, Ash would be very disappointed in himself.

"Pikachu vs Fearow. Begin!"

"Quick Attack!" Wayne shouted and the Fearow immediately disappeared in a blur. Unfortunately for it, Pikachu was fast as well and dodged the attack with his own burst of pace. The two pokémon duked it out for a while as they tried to get a feel of each other. Ash was impressed by the Fearow. It was as fast as his starter and that showed how well trained it was. Ash knew that he would need to change Pikachu's approach as none of his electric attacks would hit the flying type pokémon given its speed.

It seemed like his opponent had the same thought as well. "Aerial Ace!" he shouted and one of Fearow's wings started to glow.

 _Aerial Ace, an attack that never misses, huh?_ Ash mused. _Well, two can play this game._

"Shockwave!" Ash instructed softly. He didn't understand why some people shouted out their instructions, it just made it easier for their opponents to counter. Pikachu's body lit up and a beam of electricity lashed out towards the bird pokémon. His opponent didn't say anything assuming his Fearow would dodge the attack, something Ash counted on. Big mistake. As Fearow veered towards the right and dodged the Shockwave, the beam followed it and hit home.

"Fearow!" Wayne shouted in panic as it screamed in pain.

"Now's our chance to finish it Pikachu! Spark!" Ash instructed calmly. He had learnt well from his mistakes. He would not get too excited or celebrate unless and until the referee declares the result.

Pikachu surrounded his body in electricity and charged towards the Fearow at full speed. This meant the mouse pokémon was next to the bird pokémon in seconds and smashed his body into the Beak Pokémon further shocking it. It screamed out in pain once again before falling down. To Ash's surprise, it was still trying to get up. This just showed how well trained it was. To take full powered attacks that were super effective and still stand was a feat that Ash had not seen since Misty's Starmie. But Wayne must have seen the writing on the wall and withdrew his Fearow. He knew that Fearow would not be able to damage Pikachu now and would needlessly get further injured. Ash's respect for his opponent grew at his decision.

"Seeing how well-trained your Pikachu is, I am sure that you have devised a strategy for ground-type pokémon," Wayne commented. Ash remained pokerfaced not giving anything away. "Yes, thought so. Well, this is my best opportunity at beating you." Saying that, he called out his next pokémon.

On seeing the humanoid pokémon with yellow fur and the black lightning bolt shaped scar on its chest, Ash and Pikachu were both taken aback. Flashes of the battle in the cave and the massive Hyper Beam injuring the pokémon went through their minds. Pikachu looked back at Ash and a silent conversation went between the two. _Do you think you can handle this?_ One's face asked. _I can but I may need your help,_ hesitancy and slightly ashamed face answered. _Anything you need. We will get through this!_ The hesitancy cleared and two slightly more confident faces stood confronting their opponents.

 **Meanwhile…**

This silent conversation did not go unnoticed. On seeing the uncharacteristic look on Ash's face, Misty commented, "Why do Ash and Pikachu look so unconfident? Defeating Electabuzz may be tougher, but they should be able to handle it."

"I know what you mean," Lt. Surge frowned in confusion. "The brat and his Pikachu defeated my Raichu. The Electabuzz should not trouble them."

"Mt. Moon," Brock cut in. On seeing the confused faces of the rest of the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, he elaborated. "Ash was one of the trainers at Mt. Moon when Team Rocket attacked. He fought against Archie's Electabuzz. If I remember correctly, his Electabuzz did quite a bit of damage to Ash's pokémon before they were able to take it down."

"Ah, so they are having flashbacks to the battle." Lt. Surge said, the frown still on his face. Of all the people present there, he knew the most about these things. He had taken part in a war after all. "Well, don't worry about it. They'll get over it. They just have to realise that not all Electabuzz are as powerful as Archie's nor are they as evil. I'm sure this battle will establish that."

"What I want to know is that did he really defeat one of Archie's pokémon on his own?" Erika's soft voice cut in.

"Yes," Lance was the one who answered this time, pride evident in his voice. "It was his Dratini who took it down!"

"Wow!" Erika exclaimed as Lt. Surge burst into raucous laughter. "For such a young trainer to defeat even one pokémon of a Team Rocket's Executive is impressive indeed. That Dratini must be powerful."

"Oh, you have no idea!" Lt. Surge said once he got his laughter under control. "That Dratini is powerful enough to contend with some of the pokémon from our main team!" On seeing the disbelieving looks from the rest of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four bar Brock, Misty, and Lance, he continued. "What? I'm being serious! I had to sacrifice one of my pokémon to defeat it!" he exclaimed.

"This conversation is meaningless." Sabrina's monotone voice filled the area. "Why? Because you will witness the Dratini battle in the tournament, probably today. You can each make your own judgement then."

Everyone saw the logic behind Sabrina's words and they resumed watching the battle.

 **Back with Ash**

"Pikachu vs Electabuzz. Begin!"

"Discharge!" Wayne shouted, raising his fist in the air. Multiple bolts of electricity spread out from Electabuzz's body and made their way to Pikachu who didn't move. When the attack died down, Pikachu stood there unharmed.

"What?" Wayne asked in confusion. "How is there absolutely no damage on your Pikachu?" he asked in confusion.

If he was looking for an answer, he would not get one as Ash was thinking about something else altogether. On seeing the Electabuzz's body light up, Ash expected to see a massive bolt of electricity make its way towards Pikachu. But that didn't happen. And Ash suddenly understood why and felt like hitting himself. Of course the attack would be weaker. Archie's Electabuzz was a cut above the rest. It does not mean that all Electabuzz are going to be that strong, or that cruel.

He suddenly felt angry with himself. He had beaten the foremost expert in electric-type pokémon around two weeks ago, and here he was freezing in front of an electric-type pokémon? He knew he was better than that. Talking about the leader of the electric-type gym, Ash had a cheeky thought. "Pikachu," he called out to his starter as a smirk spread on his face. "Blast it!" he exclaimed out loud! And the smirk on his face grew bigger.

Pikachu looked at his trainer in surprise before a similar smirk spread across his face as well. With renewed confidence surging through his veins, he took a stance. The identical smirks on both their faces and their posture prompted more than a few people to look between Ash and Lt. Surge and wonder if there was any connection between the two.

" **Pikaa** ," the mouse pokémon charged some power before disappearing in a blur. He suddenly appeared in front of the Electabuzz and before the Electric Pokémon could blink, it was smashed into the air by a glowing tail as the Pikachu hit it with a powerful Iron Tail. Pikachu then used his tail as a springboard and jumped above the Electabuzz.

As gravity took hold and the mouse pokémon fell towards the still airborne Electabuzz, both of Pikachu's fists started glowing white and he hit it with a two-handed smash so powerful that you could see the air being displaced slightly at the point of contact. The ground shook and dust went flying everywhere as the poor Electabuzz crashed into the ground. There was a pause for a few seconds before the dust cleared out showing the unconscious form of the Electabuzz. Pikachu just turned his back and calmly walked to his trainer and perched on his shoulder.

There were a few seconds of silence before…

"The Electabuzz is unable to battle. Pikachu wins. The winner of this battle is Ash from Pallet Town."

Still, there was no sound as everyone stared at the mouse pokémon in surprise. The silence was broken by loud, boisterous laughter from Lt. Surge. As his laughter died down, he just exclaimed, "I love this kid!"

This caused a slight smirk to form on Ash's face before he walked back to his seat. Once he reached there, he saw that the rest of the trainers were staring at him dumbfounded. Only Damian was not, and he was giving Ash a contemplative look that made Ash want to smack him across his face. The only other person who seemed unaffected was Cynthia as she sat next to Ash and commented, "Well, you certainly know how to draw attention," she said lightly. "Your Pikachu is as powerful as I expected him to be. I look forward to our battle." Ash just grinned in response.

There were two more fights in round one after Ash's battle, and then the trainers were given a 15-minute break before the second round started. Once again, Ash's battle was after Damian's and Cynthia's, whose battles were reminiscent of their first-round battles. Damian's Nidoking still looked as powerful as before and Cynthia struggled slightly before emerging triumphant, this time with a powerful Eelektrik.

Ash's second battle was against a slightly cocky opponent named Paul who was from the Johto region.

"This is a two-on-two battle between Ash from Pallet Town and Paul from Cherrygrove City. No substitutions are allowed in the battle. When I say NOW, both trainers will send their first pokémon to the battle."

Ash was excited for this battle. This would be his first official battle with one of his pokémon, a special occasion for both of them. So, Ash wasted little time in sending out his Kadabra. His opponent's pokémon was feline pokémon that resembled a cat and it was from the Hoenn region. A Delcatty.

' _Our first battle as a team!'_ Kadabra commented.

' _Yes,'_ Ash thought back. _'Are you ready for it?'_

' _Of course! It has been a long time coming!'_

' _Good. Let's win this then! But be careful. Delcatty is a powerful normal-type pokémon who can learn a lot of TM moves. So be wary of its variety,'_ Ash cautioned.

"Kadabra vs Delcatty. Begin!"

"Delcatty, let's start with a Water Pulse!"

A blue sphere of energy was formed in front of Delcatty's mouth before it exploded into a wave of water that missed Kadabra by a mile as the psi pokémon calmly teleported out of the way.

"Now, Thundershock!"

' _Don't teleport too far. Make it appear as if you are barely able to dodge the attacks,'_ Ash instructed in his mind.

' _Devious,'_ Kadabra said mischievously. _'I like it.'_

' _Of course you do,'_ Ash said fondly as Kadabra teleported out of the way of the Thundershock. _'By the way, this seems like cheating.'_

' _It is not. I know for a fact that Sabrina does this in her Gym Battles as well,'_ he said as he teleported out of the way of another attack.

' _Yes, true. Still seems unfair to me. Anyway, this game of cat and mouse bores me. How about we take the battle to our opponent?'_

' _I thought you'll never ask!'_

' _Teleport behind Delcatty next time it attacks. Use Confusion and hammer it into the ground.'_

Barely had the last word gotten over when Kadabra appeared behind the Prim Pokémon. His eyes flashed red and the Delcatty was outlined in the same colour. It looked surprised as it was raised in the air and that surprise turned to panic as it was smashed into the ground.

"Delcatty!" Paul cried in worry as his pokémon was raised in the air once again only for a repeat to happen. Paul, however, showed why he was considered for the tournament and had even won his first battle as he regained his composure remarkably fast. As a battered and bruised Delcatty was raised into the air for the third time, he shouted out instructions to his pokémon.

"Delcatty, use Swift!" Delcatty opened its mouth and fired multiple star shaped rays at Kadabra who had to let go of the Confusion to evade the attacks.

' _This attack never misses,'_ Ash warns Kadabra. _'It will keep following you till it hits you.'_

' _Tch. Annoying.'_ Kadabra comments. _'Is there no way to counter it?'_

' _There is. The attack will continue till it hits something. That something does not necessarily have to be you. It can even be the Delcatty itself.'_

' _Ah, I like where this is going.'_ Kadabra then teleported out of the way of the attack a couple of more times before teleporting in front of where Delcatty would land. Paul smirked at that as he thought he finally got an opportunity. "Delcatty, Thunderbolt!"

Delcatty, using the natural grace it gets from being a feline, landed on its feet. It started sparking and was prepared to release its attack. However, Ash and Kadabra expected that.

' _Wait for it. Wait for it. NOW!'_ with that, Kadabra teleported behind the Delcatty. _'Iron Tail!'_

The Delcatty was in for a surprise as its target was suddenly not in front of it anymore. Instead, it saw its own attack on its way towards it, and left without any time to react, she didn't have any option but to take the full force of the attack.

" **Catt**!" it screamed but its pain was not over. The attack pushed the cat-like pokémon right into the waiting arms of Kadabra who smashed it into the air with an Iron Tail. Its suffering was fortunately short-lived as Kadabra once more used Confusion and hammered the battered pokémon to the ground one final time.

"The Delcatty is unable to win. Kadabra wins!"

' _Good work, Kadabra! How is it feel to get your first win?'_ Ash said jokingly but the pride was evident in his voice.

' _It feels good. I must admit, your strategy to use the Delcatty's attack on itself was brilliant.'_

' _Thank You,'_ Ash admitted modestly. _'But I will need to think of more strategies soon as I too need to evolve as a trainer.'_

' _This sounds fun. I would like to help you with that. Seems like a fun way to use your mind.'_

' _It is. But let us discuss that later. Right now, the next battle is about to start. Are you up for it or do you want me to switch you out?'_

' _I'm fine. Barely winded. I can continue.'_

Ash turned his attention from the conversation with his psychic pokémon and looked to see his next opponent emerge. It was crocodilian in shape with a blue and yellow body. It was easily recognisable since it was the evolved form of one of the starters of the Johto Region.

"Kadabra vs Croconaw. Begin!"

"Water Gun!"

Kadabra easily teleported out of the way of the attack.

"Don't let up! Use Bubble!"

Kadabra teleported out of the way of the attack once again.

"Keep up the pressure!" Paul instructed.

' _What is he doing?'_ Kadabra wondered.

' _I think he's trying to tire you out. If you see those attacks, none of them are too powerful. A well-trained water-type pokémon should easily be able to keep firing them for a while without feeling any strain.'_

' _Ah, so he wants me to keep teleporting to try to get me to tire out? Well, too bad. I can keep teleporting like this for a lot of time without effort. Thanks to a certain someone,'_ he added a little bitterly.

' _You're still on about that?'_ Ash asked exasperatedly.

' _Of course! You made me keep practicing how to teleport!'_

' _Doesn't that help you now while battling?'_

'… _..You cut into my reading time!'_

' _I gave you ample time to read!'_ Ash defended.

' _You did,'_ Kadabra agreed grudgingly. _'And it is good you made me practice as well. I have realised the importance of being powerful as well as intelligent.'_

' _What do you mean?'_ Ash asked curiously.

' _Later. Right now, we should consider our opponent. There is something off.'_

' _What do you mean?'_

' _Our opponent saw you win the first battle with Pikachu. He knows how powerful he is. Why would he send out a water-type pokémon to battle against me?'_

' _Hmm. You're right. The only thing I can think of is that Croconaw is the only pokémon he has that can defeat you.'_

' _Well, that's pretty stupid. Even if it defeats me, Pikachu can just defeat it with ease. And that's a big if. Why would he think it can defeat me? It's a water-type pokémon.'_

' _Croconaw is known as the Big Jaw pokémon because it has powerful jaws. It most likely knows Bite and maybe even Crunch.'_

' _Oh, that doesn't sound too good. So, what's the plan?'_

' _Hmm. Pretend that the strategy is working. Evade a couple of attacks with bare minimum. Show that you are tiring. Then take a bubble attack. It shouldn't hurt you too much. When the Croconaw tries to take advantage and comes at you with a gaping jaw..'_

' _I shock it,'_ Kadabra finished and a smirk was visible on the pokémon's face. _'I like it!'_

' _One last thing. Croconaw is most likely Paul's starter and is powerfully trained. You will need at least a couple of Shockwaves to knock it out.'_

' _Understood.'_

One thing about speed of thought is that it is much faster than verbal communication. So, the last conversation between trainer and pokémon took place in only a few seconds.

Kadabra followed the instructions and soon let himself be hit by the bubble attack. He pretended to be hurt as he fell backwards.

"That's our chance!" Paul yelled in excitement. "Now, use Crunch!" Hook, line, and sinker.

As Croconaw ran towards Kadabra, it opened its jaw and his teeth started glowing. However, it was in for a shock when Kadabra suddenly teleported in front of it, a blue ball of electricity formed in front of it. The ball fired a blue lightning bolt right into the open maw of the Big Jaw pokémon who yelled out in pain.

"Croconaw!" Paul yelled out in panic, fully realising how much trouble he was in. Kadabra didn't let up and followed the Shockwave by picking it up with Confusion and tossing it away as hard as he can. Another bolt of electricity followed it and the combined pain of the attacks was too much for it as it succumbed to unconsciousness.

"The Croconaw is unable to battle. Kadabra wins. The winner of this battle is Ash from Pallet Town!"

' _Great job, Kadabra,'_ Ash praised him proudly. The psi pokémon merely acknowledged the praise with poise and asked to be returned to the pokeball. On returning him, Ash walked back to the seating arrangement for contestants. There were just the three of them; Damian, Cynthia, and him. Cynthia seemed oddly relieved that he had come and congratulated him on his victory, picking up a conversation with him in hushed whispers. Seeing Damian's annoyed face, he assumed that the bastard was trying to have a conversation with the blonde beauty but she was just not interested in him. A smirk came unbidden on Ash's face as he felt _something_ inside him when he realised that. Ignoring that for now, he turned to watch the last quarterfinal, discussing the match with Cynthia.

Soon the fight ended and the trainers were given a slightly longer thirty-minute break before the semi-finals. Ash and Cynthia spent that time visiting a food joint and sharing some a meal. They had a pleasant conversation on the battles they had either seen or participated in that day. Cynthia was definitely the most fun person Ash had spoken to in his life. She was one who had the same dreams Ash did and she had the same love for pokémon as well. With those two came a lot of mutual interests and Ash thought he could spend any amount of time with her and not get bored.

 **Meanwhile, with the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four**

"Interesting set of matches we've had so far, huh?" Brock commented.

"Too right!" Blaine said. "I must say, that Ash kid is fire," slipping into his old habit of equating everything with his favourite element. Not only did his battle with Pikachu remind us of Lt. Surge, his next battle reminded me of Sabrina. I'm assuming they were using some sort of telepathic conversation during the battle?"

"Yes," Sabrina said with a smile. "The kid is good, I never said otherwise. He raises his Kadabra well and I already know it will grow to be extremely powerful, perhaps even on par with my starter."

"Are you serious?" Bruno asked incredulously. He had a right to be surprised. Sabrina's starter is the most powerful Alakazam in the world bar none. In fact, he was the strongest psychic-type pokémon bar the legendaries. To say that Ash's Kadabra could one day reach that level is mindboggling.

"I have foreseen it," she replied solemnly. This caused the remaining 10 of them to suck in a deep breath in surprise.

"Wow. Now that's something you don't hear every day," Misty said with a nervous laugh. "Anyway, what about Cynthia. She is good. In fact, she is as good as Ash in my opinion. The winner of the tournament will be between the two of them."

"Don't forget Damian," Koga cut in.

"Yes, yes. His Nidoking is powerful and one cannot forget the all-powerful poison-type pokémon," Lorelei commented mockingly. It was no secret that Koga wanted the Elite Four seat. He had fought with all his might to get that seat but was beaten to it by Lorelei. Since then, the two had bad blood between them. Koga could not get over the defeat to a trainer much younger than him and Lorelei justly felt she didn't get the proper respect from the master of poison-type pokémon.

"No, I don't mean it that way," Koga said seriously. His serious personage coupled with him not taking the bait laid out by Lorelei told the others that he had something important on his mind. "That Nidoking is powerful, there are no two opinions on that. But he feels wrong. Something, somewhere, is off with that pokémon. And being a trainer for so long, I think it stems from that trainer."

"Hmm, that is serious," Lance commented as he stroked his chin. "Should I put a tail on him?"

"There is no need for that," Sabrina assured him. "Everything will be sorted out by tomorrow." And that was the end of the conversation.

 **Back with Ash**

The time for the break soon got over and everyone assembled back for the semi-finals. The electronic board flashed again setting on the faces of Damian and the other trainer, a boy by the name of Luke. As they made their way to the arena, Ash and Cynthia looked at each other.

"So, this is it. I have to confess, I have been looking forward to this match since I met you."

"Same here," Ash smiled in return. "I have a feeling our match will be my toughest one to date."

Cynthia laughed at that statement. "I don't have that feeling. I know for a fact that our battle will be my toughest one since I started my journey. It makes me feel validated. I know that my journey from Sinnoh did not go to waste."

Ash just smiled in return before turning his attention to the ongoing match. Damian had once again called out his Nidoking who was dominating Luke's pokémon. He had already defeated one and was on the verge of defeating the second.

"Something about that trainer and his Nidoking does not sit right with me," Cynthia confessed to Ash, who just hummed in agreement. "What do you know about him?" When Ash turned to look at her in confusion, she explained. "I have noticed your feelings for him. You are hiding them well but I can sense that something has happened between the two of you which has left you angry."

"You are correct," Ash sighed. "But let's not discuss that now. It will take time to explain and from the way things are going, our battle is about to start soon." And Ash had a point, Damian's Nidoking had already defeated Luke's second pokémon and was on the verge of defeating the third one and winning the match. A few seconds later, it did happen as Nidoking hammered a massive punch and knocked out his opponent winning the match.

Cynthia nodded and both young trainers took deep breaths to center themselves. They knew they would need to be at their best to win the next battle. As they made their way to the arena, all thoughts other than the upcoming battle left their mind. Before they split up to stand at opposite corners of the arena, they gave each other one last smile.

"Best of luck!" Cynthia flashed him a grin.

"And to you too. May the may best trainer win!" Ash returned her smile before going towards his box.

"This is a three-on-three battle between Ash from Pallet Town and Cynthia from Celestic Town. No substitutions are allowed in the battle. When I say NOW, both trainers will send their first pokémon to the battle."

Ash palmed Dratini's pokeball. He knew this was going to be a battle between dragons. As he sent him out, he saw that he was indeed correct. Cynthia had called out her Gible. The spectators sat up, their interest piqued by the match up. It was not every day that you could see a battle between two powerful dragons. Up with the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, Lance sat up straighter, his eyes gleaming. The two dragons stared each other down, both of them adamant on winning the battle for their trainers.

"Dratini vs Gible. Begin!"

The two dragons immediately attacked each other. The arena was lit up as both dragons sent a variety of attacks at their opponent. Fire met water, static filled the air as electricity was discharged, a sandstorm kicked up as Gible made use of its ground-type nature. The battle was fast paced and intense as both dragons went all out from the start.

While they were throwing the kitchen sink at each other, they showed how well trained they were as none of the attacks hit them. Dratini made use of his natural agility honed by the intense training given to him by Ash by slithering out of the way of every attack, while Gible showed it was no slouch either as it swerved and dug its way around every one of Dratini's attacks. While Ash had taught Umbreon dig, he had never seen it being used by a ground-type pokémon before. Gible could literally dig a hole in the ground and come out a metre away in a second to effectively dodge an attack. It was a breath-taking display of its mastery over the ground and showed the massive amount of time it must have spent training to become this good.

Soon, the theme of the battle changed. It looked like the opening salvo was used by the dragons to gauge their opponents, for instead of shooting elemental attacks at each other, they started shooting draconic ones. And the results were devastating. The entire arena shook when two Dragon Rage attacks clashed with each other, and left the spectators wondering if the dust cloud was because of the sandstorm used by the Gible, or because of the result of the clash between the monstrously powerful attacks.

The dust settled to show both dragons rushing at each other with their limbs glowing green. Tail met claw as Dratini's Dragon Tail clashed with Gible's Dragon Claw. A shockwave erupted at the point of contact once again showing how powerful those two attacks were. Ash ignored the beeping of his pokedex telling him that Dratini had learnt Dragon Tail, Ash could see that. It looked like the heat of the battle had given him the necessary push to make the move ready for battle.

Both pokémon struggled to overpower their respective opponents, and failing to do so, they both charged an orb of draconic energy in their mouth and fired it at each other at point blank distance. The resultant explosion was even bigger than the previous one and Ash and Cynthia could _feel_ the draconic energies even through the psychic shields. Both contestants waited with baited breath for the dust cloud to settle and once it did, they saw both dragons glaring at each other while panting heavily. Both of them were covered with scratches and bruises as the battle was taking a toll on them.

It looked like both the dragons were completely equally matched. Not just power wise, but also their tenacity to win it for their trainers and their pride as dragons. It looked to be heading for a draw. Only suddenly, it wasn't. Gible erupted in blinding light that forced everyone to look away. When they got their eyesight back, they looked to see it growing longer, almost doubling in height. When the light stopped a few seconds later, they could see a different pokémon standing where the Gible was.

" **Gab, Gabite**!" it roared in triumph.

"Gabite!" Cynthia exclaimed in shock. "You evolved! That is amazing!" She looked at a resigned looking Ash with a mixture of joy and sorrow. Ash understood her feelings. She was overjoyed at her Gible finally evolving and was sorry that the battle would be settled this way. It felt like cheating that her pokémon got a massive power boost in the middle of the battle. She didn't want to win this way, not against an opponent like Ash who was as good as her. Ash just nodded at her telling her it was fine. Such things can happen in pokémon battles, it just sucks when you are at the receiving end of it.

The battle renewed. But this time, the difference in power was clear to see. Gabite was faster than Dratini, looked fresher, and was definitely more powerful. It was not if but when Gabite would overpower Dratini. And it happened less than two minutes later. There was nothing Ash could do about it. Gabite made use of its boost in speed and managed to land a Dragon Claw before Dratini could land his Dragon Tail. Dratini roared in pain before falling unconscious. But he did not go down without a fight. As a last act of defiance, he smacked Gabite across its face with his glowing tail with all the power he could muster before succumbing to his injuries.

"Dratini is unable to battle. Gabite wins!"

"You did good, buddy. I could not have asked more of you. You were just unlucky today," Ash murmured to his pokémon after he withdrew him. And it was the truth. Gabite was leaning against the ground panting for breath. While not defeated, it had been severely damaged and would not be able to battle much longer.

 **With the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four**

"See!" Lt. Surge said. "I told you that the Dratini is powerful enough to contend with some of the pokémon from our main teams."

"You were correct," Lorelei mentioned, shock present in her voice. "And it still lost! Look at the damage caused by those two pokémon! The only time such damage was caused to the arena was during the finals of the 7th-8th Gym competition. Just how powerful is that Gabite!"

"Not that much more powerful than the Dratini," Lance said. "Before it evolved, Dratini and Gabite were equally matched. Luck favoured Cynthia in this match and she knows it. That doesn't take away from the fact that she too has masterfully trained her pokémon. Till now, I didn't expect any other trainer to be as talented as Ash. I have been proven wrong."

"Must be a huge shock to his system to see his Dratini lose like that," Lt. Surge said. "Let us see how he recovers. This battle could either make or break his career."

"I doubt it would be that extreme, Surge," Brock commented. "Yes, he may lose, but to break his career?"

"So far, Ash has mostly coasted along in his battles. After so long, he knows he is good. I doubt he has suffered a loss in his career so far. That sort of a thing can inflate anyone's ego, and he is just a kid. If he loses, he will come crashing down on earth. After that, it depends on him. He can either kick on and learn from the loss and be motivated even more, or he can wallow in despair. It has happened before."

"This will be good for him," Sabrina mentioned. "He finally has a rival to compete against. Both of them will push each other to reach new heights. They will be so busy trying to match and outdo the other that they will scale heights rarely seen in the pokémon world."

"You know a lot about these kids, especially Ash. Is there a reason you have foreseen so much of his future?" Agatha, using all her experience, noticed the pattern.

"It is not the correct time for me to talk about that," she mentioned truthfully.

"Is that so? This means the kid will become a big player in things to come."

"Probably true," Lance mentioned. "I am not a psychic, but even I get that feeling from him having interacted with him a couple of times. And don't worry, Surge. This defeat will not bog him down. Both trainers know it was luck that Cynthia won that round. And if you don't believe me, she is apologising for it."

With that, they turned their attention back to the match.

 **Back with Ash and Cynthia**

Lance was correct. Cynthia was indeed apologising to Ash.

"Don't apologise, Cynthia. Such things happen. Even if Gible didn't evolve, it would have been a draw. I must commend you. I have never seen any pokémon go toe-to-toe against Dratini like this before. It was exhilarating to watch."

"I know what you're saying. So far, Gible has mostly coasted through his battles. I think it was the rush he got from finally battling against someone on an equal footing that caused him to evolve."

"Maybe. But don't think you have won this battle. It is far from over!" he exclaimed as he sent out his second pokémon.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Ash. I know there is a lot left to this battle!" she replied before exclaiming in surprise when she saw his next pokémon. "A Floette! You have a fairy-type pokémon!" she then grimaced as she realised just how difficult the next battle would be for Gabite.

"Floette vs Gabite. Begin!"

"Ember!" Cynthia gave her first instruction in the battle.

Vines came out of Floette's flower that she used to evade the ball of fire coming at her. Strong gusts of sparkling wind came out her flower and crashed into Gabite who was too tired to dodge effectively. The super powerful attack caused him to scream out in pain before falling down on one knee in pain. As he struggled to stand up, glowing crescent leaves struck him continuously before his willpower finally gave way and he collapsed.

"Gabite is unable to battle. Floette wins."

Cynthia withdrew Gabite with a smile on her face and praised her pokémon. She then sent out her next pokémon, and Ash knew he was in for a difficult fight. He had seen her Monferno absolutely crush its opponents in the first round. And being a fire-type pokémon, Floette's grass-type attacks will have little effect on it, something Cynthia undoubtedly knew about.

"Be careful, Floette," he warned her. "Her Monferno is powerful." The fairy-type pokémon acknowledged his warning with a nod.

"Floette vs Monferno. Begin!"

"Fairy Wind!" It was Ash's turn to start giving instructions in the match. As gusts of wind started coming out of her flower, both trainer and pokémon failed to notice the smirk on Cynthia's face.

"Incinerate!" A fireball with a bright centre and black highlights came out of the Monferno's mouth and shot at the gusts of wind. Surprisingly, the gusts were absorbed by the fireball causing it to grow in size and shoot on towards Floette unhindered. By the time it reached the fairy pokémon, it had doubled in size. Not expecting this to happen, Floette was left with no time to react and took the full brunt of the attack causing an explosion.

"Floette!" Ash yelled out in worry as he saw the fairy type fall back with bruises all over her body. "What the hell happened?" he wondered out loud.

"Don't you know, Ash?" Cynthia said with a smile on her face. "Fire only grows larger if you feed it oxygen," causing Ash to look at her dumbfounded. He did know that, it was elementary science. But to use it in a battle in this way was something else. It was sheer genius. "It's time to finish this battle. Monferno, Flame Wheel!"

Monferno's body enveloped in fire and it started to somersault its way to Floette at a fast pace. But Ash had a counter. He had worked really hard with Floette to make sure that she can last a long time in battles. She would not be defeated so easily.

"Protect!"

A bluish green force field appeared around Floette causing Monferno to crash painfully against it. As the ape like pokémon recovered from the abrupt pain of smashing face first into a barrier, Floette made haste in taking advantage of the opportunity presented to her. Predicting what her trainer was going to instruct her to do, she charged another Fairy Wind and blasted the Monferno back.

"Monferno!" Cynthia shouted. She could not believe it. She had expected to win the battle then and there and in a matter of seconds, her pokémon was on the defensive.

"Tackle!" Ash instructed, knowing the other moves would either be useless or help Monferno attack Floette like it did before. He grimaced as he realised the importance of Floette mastering Dazzling Gleam soon. She really needed more attacking prowess.

As Floette charged in, Monferno recovered and showing great agility, it dodged the fairy pokémon and sent a super-fast punch in return. The fighting-type attack caused little damage to the fairy but created enough space between the two pokémon, something Cynthia wanted.

"Ember!"

The fireball came fast and Floette was unable to recover from the punch in time to dodge the attack. "Finish this! Incinerate!"

"Double Team!" Ash countered.

Multiple copies of Floette suddenly surrounded Monferno as the Incinerate harmlessly passed through one of them. Seeing Floette looking very bruised and battered, Ash knew she would not last longer.

"Wish!" he instructed and Cynthia saw with disbelieving eyes as the multiple copies all straightened up and their bruises faded as they returned to perfect health.

"How is that even fair?" she grumbled to herself as the copies all twirled and sent gusts of glittering wind at her starter. While the gusts were coming from different directions, she knew that most of them were illusions and only one was real. The problem for her was that she did not know which one that was, so she could not counter it as she did in the beginning of the match. She smiled despite herself as her starter was blasted by the attack. Trust Ash to know how to counter a disadvantage after seeing it used only once.

This did not mean that she would simply roll over and lose. "Monferno!" she snapped out getting her starter's attention to her as Floette readied herself to use the attack a second time. She could see that he was getting flustered by the attack and needed the focus. "Fire Spin! Get rid of those copies!"

Monferno nodded and released a brilliant flame from its mouth around it. The flame absorbed the wind from the gusts of wind from the Floette and became bigger and swept across all the copies and the original one. When the flame died down, the copies had disappeared and Floette had fallen back with numerous injuries.

"Incinerate! Again!" she barked out.

"Evade!" Ash instructed knowing that Floette could be knocked out if she got hit by that attack once again. "Grab and smash!"

Vines came out of Floette's flower and smacked against the ground with enough force to send her out of the way of the attack. They snaked their way towards the ape like pokémon and caught it at multiple places.

"Monferno, burn them away!" Cynthia instructed but was too late as Floette lifted it up and smashed it into the ground causing it to cry out in pain.

"No! Flame Wheel!" she yelled out as it was lifted into the air once more. The flames covering its body burned away the vines holding it in place and it rolled its way to the fairy.

"Protect!" Ash immediately countered.

"Ember!" it was Cynthia's turn to counter. Monferno stopped rolling and used the flames surrounding it to fire a point blank fireball that was met by a bluish green force field.

"Incinerate!" she yelled out triumphantly. As the force field lowered itself, Floette was met by a larger fireball fired from point blank range. She could not do anything as she was engulfed by the attack.

"Floette!" Ash yelled out in worry as he saw his fairy pokémon take the brunt of the attack. Once it ended, everyone could see the fairy pokémon down for the count, swirls in its eyes.

"Floette is unable to battle. Monferno wins."

"Yes!" Cynthia exulted. "Great job, Monferno!" she told her starter.

"You did great, Floette," Ash said warmly as he withdrew the fairy. "You were at a massive disadvantage, yet you did so much damage to it." And it was true. Monferno had bruises all over its body and was panting heavily from the last battle.

"That was an amazing battle, Ash! Monferno was my first pokémon and he has never been pushed this hard in a battle before. And that too with half of Floette's moves ineffective on him. I think that if she was not handicapped the way she was, you would have won that round."

"That may be true, but there's no point talking about what ifs. And take nothing away from your Monferno or yourself. He battled brilliantly, and you led it well. Your strategy at the end really surprised me and that led to us losing."

He then took out his last pokeball and murmured into it. "It's all up to you now, buddy." Saying that, he sent out his starter.

"Be careful, Monferno. That Pikachu is at another level altogether. Don't let its small size fool you," she warned him.

"Pikachu vs Monferno. Begin!"

Pikachu immediately made use of his speed and freshness and dashed towards the tired Monferno. Surprisingly, he could keep up with Ash's starter for a while, but Pikachu was just tiring him out. When he realised that Monferno was tiring, he _increased_ his speed causing Cynthia to shout out a loud "WHAT?!"

As Pikachu started smacking Monferno around, she recovered admirably fast and instructed Monferno to make use of Fire Spin. As the fire storm spread out around the Monferno, Pikachu backed away from the fire and dodged by retreating to a safe distance.

"Shock Wave!" Ash instructed. This is what made Pikachu so dangerous. While being extremely speedy and damaging from a close distance, he could be equally destructive from far away. However, it would be Ash that would be left surprised this time as Cynthia had another trick up her sleeve.

"Flamethrower!" she laid down her trump card. The powerful fire-type attack overpowered the electric-type attack and continued on its way towards Pikachu who was left with no time to react and took the attack head on.

"Yes!" Cynthia exulted. "Finish this! Flame Wheel!"

As Monferno once again somersaulted his way towards Pikachu, Ash frowned. The flamethrower was a powerful attack, and Pikachu was damaged more than what Ash was comfortable with. This could make Pikachu's battle against Cynthia's third pokémon extremely difficult. But for that, he had to beat that stubborn Monferno first. Ash could not believe the amount of damage he had taken and still continued to fight.

"Double Team!" Ash countered.

"Not again!" Cynthia groaned in frustration as one Pikachu became many and the Flame Wheel passed through a copy harmlessly.

"Spark!" Ash instructed. "Finish the battle!"

Monferno could not do anything as multiple sparking copies of Pikachu passed through him harmlessly from all sides before the actual one made contact and sent him flying away in pain. Pikachu ran after his opponent and jumped into the air to be above him. He lifted his paw and electric energy gathered on it before he smashed it into the Monferno's midriff while sending an electric current into him.

That seemed to do it as the Monferno was knocked unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Monferno is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" the referee announced as Ash looked in disbelief at his starter. He recognised the attack Pikachu used, but he knew that he had not trained Pikachu in using that. As if to get confirmation, his pokedex beeped.

 **Pikachu has learnt the move Thunder Punch.**

 _But how?_ Ash wondered. _Could it be? By learning how to send his electric energy throughout his body, he combined that with what he learnt from Brick Break and learnt Thunder Punch. Is this why Professor Oak said that pokémon who learn to master their energy grow on to be more powerful than normal pokémon?_

While Ash was thinking this, Cynthia had withdrawn her starter and was praising him to the moon and back, not that Ash could blame her. Monferno took quite a bit of damage before succumbing to his injuries. She then took out her next pokeball and murmured something to it before she released the pokémon inside.

Her next pokémon did not have a physical body. Its appearance seemed to projected out of a trapezoidal rock that had a crack running down the middle. Its appearance seemed to composed of a purple coloured fog that had a face in the middle of it containing green, crescent eyes connected to its mouth. Ash grimaced as he realised how difficult the upcoming battle would be. Spiritomb are powerful pokémon with only one known weakness – fairy. And Ash's fairy-type pokémon had already been knocked out.

"Pikachu vs Spiritomb. Begin!"

"Feint Attack!"

"Shockwave!"

Spiritomb made its way towards Pikachu and floated out of the way of the electric attack. The Shockwave changed course and made its way towards the Forbidden pokémon but it suddenly disappeared from sight. It reappeared on Pikachu's right and smashed into him. Pikachu went away flying while shouting in pain, the Shockwave disappearing as Pikachu was no longer able to concentrate on his attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in worry. "Quick, use Spark!"

Pikachu quickly regained his bearings and charged towards Spiritomb while covering his body with electric energy. As he was about to reach it, Cynthia countered. "Sucker Punch!"

Just as Pikachu was about to hit the Spiritomb, a hand came out of its projected appearance and punched Pikachu on his face sending him careening back in pain.

"And now, Ominous Wind!" Cynthia instructed calmly, in her element. She knew how to battle with her Spiritomb and it showed. Each attack was methodical and effective, and Ash had no counter to them. The Spiritomb spun on its spot and a cyclone of purple coloured wind was created and smashed into the mouse pokémon.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in worry as he saw his starter being battered around. Pikachu were not pokémon who could take too many hits in the first place. Getting hit by a Flamethrower, a Feint Attack, a Sucker Punch, and now by Ominous Wind was too much for him. He was battered and bruised and was struggling to stand, that too on pure will power alone.

"Come on, buddy." Ash encouraged him. "We can't lose now. You know who's waiting for us in the finals. We can't lose! We made a promise!" Ash's voice increased as he started speaking with more and more passion. "We can't break that promise. This is our opportunity. We have to seize it!"

Pikachu seemed emboldened by Ash's words and his body started sparking. He stood up and stared at the Spiritomb with determination. The sparking around his body increased before he disappeared. He literally disappeared from sight. Ash and Cynthia looked in shock as Pikachu suddenly appeared behind the Spiritomb and smashed a massive Thunder Punch at it.

Neither of the two trainers knew what was happening. Ash had seen it happen once before when Jonathan's Charmander activated Blaze in the battle against him. He thought it would be something similar to that. However, some people recognised what Pikachu was doing and over near the Gym Leaders, Lt. Surge stood up and stared in awe at what he was witnessing with his jaw dropped. The rest of the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four were no better.

"Spiritomb!" Cynthia yelled out. "Hypnosis!"

Spiritomb followed its trainer's instructions and turned to Pikachu only to find the mouse now longer there. Pikachu reappeared behind it and charged a massive ball of electricity above his tail. He sent the Electro Ball at the Forbidden pokémon. The resultant shockwave once again shook the stadium and the Spiritomb's body was flickering.

"Spiritomb!" Cynthia was seriously getting worried. Every time she thought she had won the match, Ash's pokémon did something like this. Less than a minute ago, Pikachu was barely able to stand, and now _this_?! Where did that power surge even come from?

She tried to counter but Ash was not giving her any opportunity to do so. "Pikachu, get beneath that Spiritomb and hit it with Thunderbolt!" he yelled out in exuberance. This fight was the closest he had and the emotions were getting to him.

"What?" Cynthia asked in disbelief before realising that Ash had used the same strategy as her. She had kept Monferno's Flamethrower as a trump card, and Ash had done the same with Pikachu. The mouse pokémon once again disappeared from sight ( _what is that speed?! I've never seen anything like this!_ ) and four massive bolts of electricity came from it and hit her pokémon. A massive dust cloud was formed as a result of the attack and Cynthia took out Spiritomb's pokeball with a resigned expression. She knew that attack was it, there was no way her Spiritomb could be conscious after that.

The dust cleared and the audience saw with baited breath to see the climax of that match. As the dust cleared, they were treated to the sight of both pokémon lying down unconscious, Pikachu's body giving up on him as he could not keep up with the surge of power anymore. The referee looked up at Lance in confusion wondering what to call as the result of the match.

The Champion got up and addressed the contestants. "It looks like a tie. In such a situation, we can use the cameras and the sensors to see which pokémon was knocked unconscious first. Another option is that since this is a three-on-three battle, we can decide the winner by a final knockout match. A one-on-one battle between the two of you to decide who goes to the finals. The decision is up to you two."

Ash and Cynthia looked at each other. They were startled out of their thoughts by the roaring of the crowd, something they had tuned out till now. They looked up in surprise as the entire crowd shouted "Once More" at the two contestants. And who could blame them? The match between Ash and Cynthia was as good as a match between two top contestants in the Pokémon League. The people in the crowd had even called their friends who had decided to skip the tournament to come watch the match. And these people were glad they listened to their friends' advice. The match between Ash and Cynthia was easily the best match of the entire S.S. Anne trip. And they wanted more! So they made their choice clear between the two options given to the contestants.

Ash and Cynthia smiled at each other. It looked like the decision had been made. As one, they turned to Lance and gave their decision. "One more match."

"And one more match it is!" Lance said with a joyous laugh as the crowd let out a wild cheer. Ash and Cynthia nodded at each other and sent out their pokémon. Ash sent out his Umbreon while Cynthia sent out her Eelektrik.

"Umbreon vs Eelektrik. Begin!"

"Discharge!" she yelled out, starting the match.

"Take it!" Ash yelled out as well, uncharacteristically as the heat of the moment got to both the trainers. Cynthia looked on in surprise as the powerful electric-type attack did absolutely no damage to the Umbreon.

"What, does your Umbreon have Lightning Rod as an ability as well?" she asked sarcastically causing Ash to burst into laughter.

"Not really. But having an electric-type pokémon as a starter allows one to come up with ways to battle them easily," he said with a smirk. "Quick Tail," he added to his dark-type pokémon.

Umbreon zipped away at full speed and smacked the EleFish Pokémon with impunity. Eelektrik was a powerful pokémon, but unfortunately, it was slow. Against a fast pokémon like Umbreon, it was struggling. As Umbreon came back to attack it again, Cynthia yelled out. "Discharge, once more!" Again, electricity filled the air as Eelektrik let out a powerful blast of electricity. Once the dust cleared, they saw that Umbreon had no damage to it.

"What?" Cynthia asked in disbelief. "Is your pokémon really immune to electric-type attacks?"

Ash just laughed and said, "Not really. Unfortunately for you, Umbreon has developed a rivalry with Pikachu. And I spent the last month training my pokémon to battle against Lt. Surge. So, my pokémon just know how to battle against electric-type pokémon."

"Umbreon, smack it away with Iron Tail. Then meet it with Dig." Umbreon called out her name before once more charging at her opponent. She smacked it into the sky and quickly dug a hole in the ground. By the time Eelektrik landed, Umbreon erupted from the ground beneath it and smacked into it again. Eelektrik yelled out in pain and fell heavily to the ground. It struggled to get up but its efforts were in vein as Umbreon charged power into her mouth and a black ball of energy was formed. She sent it at her opponent where it detonated powerfully creating another shockwave. By the time the dust cleared, Eelektrik was unconscious.

"Eelektrik is unable to battle. Umbreon wins. The winner of the battle is Ash from Pallet Town." And the crowd erupted in cheers once again. They were shouting not only Ash's name, but Cynthia's as well. The cheering renewed as both trainers met in the middle and shook hands in a great show of sportsmanship.

"That was a great battle, Ash. It was truly my most difficult one to date. I have learnt so much from just this one battle. Thank you," she smiled at her friend.

"Yes, it was an amazing battle," Ash admitted. "It was my most difficult battle as well. There were so many incidents where I could have lost the match. That has never happened before. If Pikachu had not found that weird boost of energy towards the end, you would have won."

"And I never would have reached that situation if Gible did not evolve midway through the battle." Cynthia countered. "That should have ended as a draw. If it did, I doubt you would have sent your Floette knowing that I have a Monferno. Anyway, no point in thinking about what ifs. You won, fair and square. My Eelektrik was not as powerful as the rest of my pokémon and you countered her attacks perfectly. But thanks to that, I too found a strategy for countering electric-type attacks."

Ash looked at her in surprise. "Yes, I found out your trick. You use Iron Tail to ground your pokémon against electric type attacks. When Umbreon was attacking Eelektrik, it had Iron Tail activated. When Eelektrik attacked, it quickly grounded itself again to make it seem like it is immune to electric-type attacks."

"Wow, this is amazing. You got all that so quickly," Ash said in an impressed tone as they started making their way towards the exit. The tournament was over for the day and they were walking back towards the room.

Cynthia just smiled bashfully and looked away as Ash praised her. Her attention went towards the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four making their way towards them along with someone who looked like a Professor and a teenage girl their age. The girl was pretty, Cynthia noticed, and she was bouncing around in excitement. As she skipped towards them, she excitedly hugged Ash congratulating him. Ash laughed as well while hugging her back and Cynthia suddenly felt angry at the girl. She wanted to do nothing more than pull her away from Ash. Cynthia frowned at the direction of her thoughts wondering why the hell she was thinking such irrational things. She put it to the back of her mind as she paid attention to the conversation going on.

It seemed like the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four had come to congratulate them both for the battle they had and the way they raised their pokémon ( _Lance had praised her!_ She sang in her mind). Then they split up as Ash and Cynthia went towards the pokémon centre to heal their pokémon. The Professor, who called himself Sycamore, the regional professor of the Kalos Region, Ash's childhood friend Leaf, Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Lance accompanied them. Ash had struck a rapport with the four Gym Leaders and the Champion and they were all discussing the match. Well, everyone but Sabrina were, she was silently following them along.

After they gave their pokémon to Nurse Joy, Leaf asked the question that had been bothering Cynthia as well.

"Hey, Ash. When Pikachu was about to lose, why did you say you have to win at all costs? It seemed like there was more at stake than just this match."

Ash's good mood seemed to disappear at that question. He became silent and just shook his head at her to indicate there was no such reason. Of course, he convinced no one. There was a flash of light as Ash's Kadabra materialised out of his pokeball.

' _Tell them,'_ he told Ash telepathically.

' _No!'_ Ash argued.

' _Why? Do you have a plan?'_ the psi pokémon asked slyly as he knew he had won the argument. All Ash could do was beat Damian, he had no plan to convict him for his sins. And his trainer knew that. After thinking for a way out of the situation for a few seconds, he glared at his pokémon before starting his tale. He told them about how he found the Charmander and his eventual death. What Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny told him. About how there was no proof against Damian.

He told them about Growlithe and his condition when they first met him on the ship. What Kadabra had found out. He told them how Kadabra also found out that Growlithe was not the only pokémon of Damian that was abused. He also told them about how Nidoking played such a huge role in keeping the other pokémon in line. He told them about how Growlithe had slowly confided in them throughout the five days and about Ash's promise to defeat Damian and find a way to make him pay for his sins. By the time he was done, the rest of his audience was looking at him with mixed emotions of horror and anger.

"I knew he was a creep but I never expected him to be this bad," Cynthia muttered in disgust. "Oh Arceus, I feel like taking a bath to get rid of filth now." On seeing the confused looks directed at her, she said, "That bastard was hitting on me." She shivered just thinking about it, an actioned mirrored by Misty and Leaf.

Ash felt a brief swell of anger in him, and said, "All the more reason to kick his ass tomorrow!"

"All that is fine," Lance interrupted. "But how do we go about exposing him?"

"It will be difficult," Sabrina said. "From how you have described him, he is smart enough not to abuse his pokémon in front of the public. I am sure that the three pokémon he plans on using tomorrow will not have any signs of abuse on them even if they are given to Nurse Joy. What we need to do is make him use more pokémon than the three of them."

"You mean like today?" Cynthia asked.

"No," the psychic replied. "Your match was a rare event. The statistical probability of the same repeating in the next match is close to zero. What we need is to have a four-on-four or a five-on-five match from the beginning itself."

"But looking at how smart he is, he will never agree to that," Cynthia said.

"Which is why we need to entice him to do so. Give a prize other than what we are giving for the competition. He is arrogant enough to believe that he will win anyway. I think he believes Ash would not even be able to defeat his Nidoking."

"That's a good suggestion," Lance said. "Now, what would be a good enough prize to get him to accept?"

"I have an idea," Professor Sycamore said. "How about we propose the idea in front of the entire crowd. This way, Damian will look bad if he rejects. I suggest that I am so impressed with the trainers in the competition that the winner of the competition gets an all-expenses paid trip to the Kalos Region and spend a week with me while I show them the various pokémon native to that region. It will also give them an opportunity to capture one or two pokémon that they like.

Once the battle is over, I insist that I take the trainers to the pokémon centre to get their pokémon healed since it is my fault they got so injured in the first place. This way, Damian would not be able to back out even if he tries."

"Hmm, that's a good idea," Lance said. "And doable as well."

Meanwhile, Ash was looking between Kadabra and Sabrina with suspicion. "What I want to know is how long have you two been planning this?" he asked causing the others to look at them with surprise.

Sabrina just smiled. "Well spotted, Ash Ketchum. Kadabra told me when I asked him to visit me the day the ship left the port."

"And you did not tell me this for what reason?" Ash asked his pokémon.

"Because I asked him not to," Sabrina replied. "As for the reason I asked him to visit me, I wanted to see how he was growing. As you know, I do love the Abra line."

Ash frowned but did not argue with her. Instead, he turned to Lance who started speaking. "Ash, this plan depends on you. It will be up to you to force Damian to take out his weaker pokémon so that they can be shown to Nurse Joy. Basically, you have to beat him."

"Don't worry about that," Ash said with a steely look in his eyes. "I have no plans of losing."

Their plans for tomorrow made, they split up. Ash and Cynthia went to get some sleep since the day had tired them out and Nurse Joy had told them to collect their pokémon the next day. Leaf and Professor Sycamore went to the dining room to eat dinner leaving the four Gym Leaders and Lance.

"I still think we should have told him," Lt. Surge said.

"You know why I told you not to," Lance countered.

"I understand your logic, but I don't necessarily agree with it."

"Don't worry," Sabrina said. "You will get to talk to him about it and it will be before the League." When she said that, Lt. Surge looked happier. They too decided to split up after the conversation was over. As for what they were talking about, it was about Pikachu's sudden boost in power.

 **Flashback**

The Gym Leaders and the Elite Four were watching the match with interest. After the battle between the dragons, the rest of the battles had been equally intriguing. They were especially impressed by Ash's ability to counter any situation that put him in a tight spot. They were sure that any other trainer would have lost by now. They were equally impressed with Cynthia's strategies, especially how she used Floette's Fairy Wind to boost Monferno's power.

"Looks like the match is about to end. Ash was caught completely flat-footed against the Spiritomb," Koga commented to general agreement.

"It was a brilliant match," Erika said. "To think that those trainers started their journeys only a few months ago!"

"Yes, they both will go on to do great things," Brock said.

Further conversation, however, was halted when they heard Ash's passionate plea to his Pikachu. The Leaders looked at each other in confusion but before anyone could ask the question, Pikachu started sparking. They all frowned and looked at Lt. Surge in surprise as he got up with an astonished look on his face.

"Impossible," he muttered. "This is _impossible_!"

Before they could question the bulky master of electric pokémon, they saw Pikachu disappear in a flash. When it hit the Spiritomb, the more experienced Leaders understood what had Lt. Surge so perplexed.

"There is _no way_!" Bruno muttered in disbelief. "There is absolutely no way. I spent years trying to reach this stage and he has reached there in only a few months!"

"Seems like it," Agatha muttered. "I didn't understand the hype of this kid when Lance kept going on about him. But I do now."

"Umm, what are you talking about?" Misty, the least experienced of them asked.

"He has reached the zenith of being a pokémon trainer," Blaine said. "All pokémon have their own internal energies circulating throughout their bodies. These energies decide what type of pokémon it is. Most pokémon just learn how to bring it about and use it in battle. But some pokémon can manipulate it at will. This is the result of it."

"Electric pokémon," Lt. Surge said, "have electrical energy circulating throughout their bodies. When a pokémon is able to manipulate it, they can surround themselves with it. The electrical energy is surrounding every nerve and muscle of the pokémon like Pikachu is doing now. Because of that, they get a huge boost in speed and power, as you can see. What Pikachu is doing is just the tip of the iceberg. A pokémon who has mastered it can do so much more. They can become so fast that they are invisible to the naked eye. Their power becomes so refined that a single touch can knock other pokémon out. The only pokémon who are said to have reached this stage are the legendaries. This is why they are so powerful."

"And Pikachu has tapped into that energy?" Misty asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Now you can understand our incredulity. Pokémon take years to reach this stage. For Pikachu to reach this stage after just a few months is something I have never seen or heard of before." He turned to the Elite Four. "You have to let me train him!" he pleaded with them.

"No!" Lance said immediately. "This is a journey he needs to take alone. By the look on his face, he does not understand what is going on. Let him grow up, mature. Let him understand what it is his pokémon are doing. Let him explore the possibilities as you and I had once done. Once he does that, then you can help him."

"You are unfortunately making sense. But I still want to train him."

"I can understand your feelings," Lance said. "For I want to train him as well."

 **Flashback End**

The next morning, Ash collected his pokémon from Nurse Joy and went back to his room. Once there, he called out all his pokémon other than Rhyhorn who was too young to understand what was going on. And Ash did not want to tell him in case it triggers a memory in the Spikes Pokémon.

He laid out the plan made by Sabrina the day before. All 5 pokémon looked fired up to beat Damian. He then turned to Dratini. "Tini, his Nidoking is powerful and his most dangerous pokémon. He beats his pokémon by overpowering them. Damian thinks he is unbeatable. Let's show them true power, eh?" to which his Dratini roared in agreement. All fired up at the thought of avenging the Charmander that was briefly a part of their team, as well as wanting to free the rest of the pokémon in his grasp after hearing the plight of the Growlithe, they made their way for the final.

Once there, he saw Cynthia standing in his path. She pointed to an alcove at their side where they could have a quiet conversation. "Good luck," she wished him quietly and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. Before Ash could react, she disappeared into the crowd. Ash stood there dumbfounded as heat spread across his face. He felt the place where she kissed him burn as emotions he had never felt before stirred inside him.

Getting his emotions under control, he left the alcove and went to the arena. Once there, he went and stood in his box as the match was about to start. He saw that the stadium was quite filled today. More than double the people had come today as compared to yesterday. Word of his battle had spread among the people and they came to the stadium expecting a match as good as the one yesterday.

A few minutes later, Damian sauntered into the arena and made his way to his box. He looked at Ash, and commented. "When we first met a week ago, you didn't speak much. I just assumed that you were a man of few words. But then I see you yesterday comfortably talking with so many people. This leads me to believe that you don't like me for some reason."

Ash remained stoic as he tried to think of an excuse. No need to show hostility now that he was so close to exposing him. "I am not good with strangers," Ash admitted somewhat stiffly. It wasn't completely untrue, he was a shy person.

"Whatever," Damian scoffed. "I'm still going to defeat you."

Ash didn't respond to the bait choosing to ignore him. This somehow caused Damian to get angrier. Ash internally smirked. Years of dealing with Gary had taught Ash that the best way to rile arrogant people up was to ignore them. So, the two spent the next five minutes this way. Ash completely ignoring Damian and the latter continuously trying to get Ash's attention and getting angrier when failing to do so.

A hush spread over the audience as Lance stood up and Ash once again admired his ability to do that. "Greetings, one and all. Welcome to the final match of the tournament. Before we begin, I would like to congratulate the contestants for providing us such excitement. You guys are brilliant trainers. Now, use this experience that you have gained and continue to reach new heights. Before we begin the tournament, Professor Sycamore would like to say a few words."

The crowd turned curiously to the professor. He had not said anything before the previous finals. He got up and cleared his throat before he started speaking. "Good morning, everyone. I will make this brief since I want the match to start. We land in Lavender Town in two hours and the match and prize distribution ceremony have to take place before that.

So, what I want to say is this. I was so impressed by the performances yesterday that I would like to sponsor the winner's stay in the Kalos Region for a week, where he will stay with me and explore a little of the region and its pokémon." The crowd erupted in cheers at the announcement completely agreeing with the professor's decision. Down in the competitor's box, Damian smirked.

"However," he continued causing the crowd to go silent again. "I think a three-on-three battle is too small. I want the finalists to have a six-on-six battle like it happens in the Pokémon League. Now," he shouted to make himself heard over the noise of the crowd as they had started to cheer again. They quietened down and listened to him. "I know that Ash has only 5 pokémon with him, so a six-on-six battle is impossible. However, I would propose for the contestants to have a five-on-five battle!"

This time he didn't continue allowing the crowd to cheer at his decision. Hey, they were getting to witness a longer battle! As the crowd cheered and encouraged the trainers to accept the proposal, Ash saw that Damian had a scowl on his face. Knowing that he was about to disagree to the terms, Ash started speaking. "A chance to learn from a regional Professor for a week and have the chance of catching a pokémon from another region? Count me in!" he finished to bigger cheers from the audience.

Seeing the scowl still present on the face of Damian, Lance got up from his seat and another hush fell over the stadium. "The Pokémon League has no issues with this arrangement as long as the trainers agree to it." The crowd once again cheered and egged on Damian to accept the deal. Having no other option but to look bad in front of so many people, Damian had no choice. He too agreed to the decision and the match could finally start.

"This is a five-on five battle between Ash from Pallet Town and Damian from Celadon City. Substitutions are allowed in this battle. When I say NOW, both trainers will send their first pokémon to the battle."

Ash took out Dratini's pokeball and tossed it releasing his dragon pokémon while Damian took out his Nidoking.

"Dratini vs Nidoking. Begin!"

"I knew you were going to start with your Dratini! So, I came prepared! Nidoking, Ice Beam!"

A light blue ball formed on Nidoking's horn and multiple light blue beams were released from it towards Dratini. The dragon merely slithered out of the way of the attack with impunity and glared at the Nidoking. Remembering what Growlithe told them about what Nidoking does to the rest of the pokémon in Damian's team awoke something in the Dratini. This is not how one treats a member of the family. Recalling Growlithe's scared face, that feeling intensified till it reached a peak. The emotions burst and Dratini was surrounded by a bright light that forced everyone to look away. Once they could see again, they saw that the pokémon was changing. It was increasing in height, almost becoming two and half times its original height. The horn on the forehead grew bigger and a truly breath-taking sight awaited them when the light died down. For Dratini had evolved into a Dragonair.

"Dragonair!" Ash exclaimed beyond excited that he had evolved. "You are more gorgeous than I had ever imagined," he murmured to general agreement from the crowd. They were all spellbound, for they were treated to a sight only a few had ever seen; the evolution of a Dratini. The pokémon was known as a Mirage pokémon for being so rare, but to see its evolution! Oh, Ho-Oh had blessed them today!

The dragon pokémon ignored the muttering in the crowd in favour for glaring at the Nidoking. He opened his mouth and charged an attack. A blue and black ball of energy was formed before he released it at the Nidoking. The ball took the shape of a roaring dragon as it slammed into the Drill Pokémon and sent him flying while roaring in pain.

He then diverted energy to his tail which lit up bright green. Draconic scales formed on his tail as he made his way to the Nidoking. By Arceus, he was so much faster in this form! He had to spend time with friend-trainer-Ash to find the limits of the new form. As he neared the downed Nidoking and got ready to slam his tail, he realised that his trainer was shouting something. Concentrating slightly to clear the fog in his mind, he realised that his trainer was telling him not to use the Dragon Tail. By the time Dragonair understood the command, it was too late. The full force of the attack slammed into the Drill Pokémon and sent it into unconsciousness. Dragonair wondered why friend-trainer-Ash asked him not to use the attack when it was so effective when he felt a jolt of pain in his body. Recognising the symptom, he realised he had been poisoned. Oh, so that's why he was warned not to use the attack. He turned to Ash and looked at him in apology. The trainer, being the wonderful person he is, just shook his head at him and asked if he was alright. Dragonair just nodded at him.

"Nidoking is unable to battle. Dragonair wins!" The crowd cheered Dragonair's victory. Ash was already a crowd favourite after the battle with Cynthia yesterday, but Dratini's evolution was the cherry on the cake.

"Grr," Damian growled. "Don't get cocky. You may have defeated Nidoking, but there is no way you'll beat my other pokémon." Saying this, he released a large, purple, centipede-like pokémon. A Scolipede. Knowing how dangerous it is to fight against a poison-type pokémon when already poisoned, Ash withdrew Dragonair knowing that he can use him in later battles since substitution was allowed in this match.

Remembering his conversation with Kadabra last night where the psychic-type pokémon told Ash he wanted to battle, he thought of no better time to send him out than now.

"Scolipede vs Kadabra. Begin!"

"You think I didn't counter the weakness of poison-type pokémon?" Damian yelled out angrily. "Scolipede, Megahorn!" Scolipede's horn glowed white as it charges at Kadabra who calmly teleports out of the way.

' _What did you do to make Damian this angry?'_ Kadabra asked amused.

' _Well, let's put it this way. Dratini evolved and knocked out his Nidoking in two moves.'_

' _Oh, Dratini evolved? That's brilliant. He was already powerful before, he must have been insanely powerful now.'_

' _He didn't show it much in the match. I think Dragonair does not know the true power he can tap into now. He will need some training to get used to the form and explore his limits.'_

' _Hmm. You're right. I remembered having to do the same when I evolved. By the way, you remember asking why I felt so sleepy during the day and me telling you that I will tell you later? That later is now.'_

' _Let me guess. You were with Sabrina?'_

' _Oh, good guess! And this is what I was doing!'_ After saying that, his eyes glowed red and a multi-coloured beam was released from them at the Scolipede. The Megapede pokémon screamed in pain as the super effective attack hit him and fell down. As it struggled to its feet, Ash stared at Kadabra incredulously as his pokedex beeped.

' _Did you just use Psybeam?!'_

' _Yep, good eye.'_

' _How? When?'_

' _Sabrina taught me.'_

' _She taught you how to use Psybeam in 5 days?!'_

' _Well, it's not mastered. But that will only come with practice.'_

Ash still stared unbelievingly. He knew Sabrina was good, but to teach a pokémon a new move in just 5 days? Unbelievable.

' _And why did you not tell me?'_

' _Because you would probably have tried to coach me as well and it would have interfered with what Sabrina was teaching me.'_

' _You are probably correct. Anyway, what do you say about finishing this battle?'_

' _I say that is a good idea.'_ With that said, Kadabra fired another psybeam at the Scolipede causing it to scream in pain once again before succumbing to his injuries.

' _Huh. That was easy,'_ Kadabra commented.

' _That was because the Scolipede was not trained well. Any trained pokémon would have dodged your first attack.'_

' _True. Good for us. We are that much closer to winning and exposing him.'_

' _Yes,'_ Ash said with a smirk.

"Scolipede is unable to battle. Kadabra wins!"

"This is not over!" Damian growls out as he sends his next pokémon, a Graveller, causing Ash to smirk. The referee looks at Ash asking if he is going to switch his pokémon. Ash wonders why not. Even if Damian somehow manages to defeat one of his pokémon, he can easily send out Kadabra or Dratini again.

"Good job, Kadabra. Get some rest. Let's do this, Floette!" Ash exclaims as he withdraws his psi pokémon and sends out his fairy.

"Graveller vs Floette. Begin!"

"Magnitude" Damian snarls.

"Evade," Ash says calmly.

Floette slammed a couple of vines into the ground to use as a push to get into the air. She floats up just in time as the ground starts shaking.

"Don't let up! The fairy will come down at some point!"

Ash just shook his head at his opponent. Honestly, this was embarrassing to Cynthia as a trainer that she did not reach the finals over this guy! "Magical Leaf till it drops."

Multiple glowing leaves came out of Floette's flower and slammed into the stationary Graveller. The poor rock-type pokémon yelled in pain as it was subjected to a barrage of leaves that were super effective on it. It lasted barely 5 seconds before falling unconscious.

"Graveller is unable to battle. Floette wins."

"This is ridiculous. Stupid, weak pokémon," he muttered mutinously, then froze when he heard angry murmurings in the crowd. Realising how close he was to messing up, he quickly shut his mouth and withdrew his pokémon.

Realising just how close he was to losing, he angrily sent out his next pokémon, a Drowzee. Ash called back his Floette and calmly released his Umbreon. He had the advantage in the match. He knew that, Damian knew that, heck, the entire crowd knew that.

"Drowzee vs Umbreon. Begin!"

"Quick Tail followed by Shadow Ball," Ash instructed deciding to take the lead in the match for the first time. Before Drowzee could realise what is going on, it yelled out in pain as it was smashed in the face by a glowing silver tail. A massive black-coloured ball formed in Umbreon's mouth that she shot at the recovering psychic-pokémon. The resultant explosion was enough to knock Drowzee out.

"Drowzee is unable to battle. Umbreon wins."

Damian mutinously withdraws his defeated pokémon. Knowing he had just one pokémon remaining, he sent it out. Ash and Umbreon froze for a second on seeing the Growlithe. Not wanting to prolong his suffering, Ash quickly withdrew Umbreon and sent out his starter.

"Growlithe vs Pikachu. Begin!"

"Thunderbolt!" Ash said. And that was all that was needed. Pikachu's thunderbolt was too fast and too powerful for Damian and Growlithe to counter. The Puppy pokémon did not even yell out in pain as it was knocked unconscious by the powerful attack.

"Growlithe is unable to battle. Pikachu wins. The winner of this tournament is Ash from Pallet Town!"

The crowd cheered as Ash was announced as the winner. They were at first disappointed that the battle was so one-sided but after watching the semi-final yesterday, they knew that Ash was in a League of his own. No one doubted that Ash deserved to win the competition.

As the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four descended onto the platform, Ash watched with sadness as Damian withdrew the Growlithe. He was sad that he had to hurt the pokémon he had gotten close to over the past week, but it couldn't be helped. He smiled as he received the congratulations from the officials of the tournament.

As Lance mentioned that they should move on to the ceremony, Ash interrupted him. "As much as I would like to see what I will receive for winning this tournament, I would like to visit the pokémon centre. My Dragonair just evolved in the middle of a battle and was poisoned immediately."

"Oh, yes! Of course! How careless of me to forget. On that note," a brilliant smile came across Lance's face, "congratulations on your Dratini evolving!"

"Thank you!" Ash beamed at him. They turned around to look at a commotion behind them. They could see that Professor Sycamore was trying to convince Damian to show his pokémon to Nurse Joy, but Damian was refusing.

"But I insist. Your pokémon were injured because I wanted to see a better battle! I can't have it on my conscience if they remain injured."

"And I am telling you," Damian replied with a forced smile on his face, "it is fine. My pokémon will recover on their own. I can take care of them."

"Nonsense," Lance boomed. "Your pokémon were injured fighting in a competition sponsored by us in the League. I insist you show your pokémon to Nurse Joy. It is the least we can do." When Damian was about to deny it again, Lance continued. "Is there a reason you ae so hesitant in showing Nurse Joy your pokémon?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"N-n-n-no Sir," Damian stuttered.

"Then what is the issue. Come on!" Lance moved his arm around Damian's shoulders and steered him towards the Pokémon Centre. Ash smirked and followed. What followed was hilarious for everyone other than Damian as he was sweating buckets at being exposed. It only got worse when Lance literally snatched his pokeballs from him and gave them to Nurse Joy. He gave all of them to Nurse Joy and when Damian protested, he simply said he didn't know which ones fought in the battle since Damian was not telling them. Ash's stomach was hurting at this point from trying to control his laughter.

Damian's expression grew even more nervous when Nurse Joy called Lance inside her office 15 minutes later. A few minutes after that, Lance literally stormed out of the office. His expression sobered Ash up pretty quickly. He had never seen Lance this angry ever before.

"Damian, you are under arrest for the abuse of pokémon. It is no wonder that you didn't want to show your pokémon to Nurse Joy!"

Damian opened his mouth before shutting them without uttering a word. What could he say, he had been caught red-handed. And so, it was a dejected Damian that was led away from the pokémon centre in handcuffs. Ash saw this happening with a vindictive smile on his face.

Half an hour later, the closing ceremony of the tournament was being held. The Pokémon League had searched through Damian's apartment in case he kept any pokémon there. Once that was done, he was kept under watch as the Closing Ceremony was organised.

Lance once again addressed the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to us discovering that Damian had been abusing his pokémon," he paused as a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd. "Yes, don't worry. Damian has been arrested. He will not be going near a pokémon for a long time now. But due to us discovering this, we cannot give him the second prize in the tournament. As a result, the winners of the tournament have been changed."

"In third place, we have the trainer who came here all the way from Hoenn, Luke!"

"I'm really glad Damian has been caught," Cynthia said from where she stood next to Ash as the crowd applauded for Luke politely.

"So am I," Ash said quietly. "I have been waiting for this moment for such a long time."

Cynthia just smiled at him gently and squeezed his hand in comfort, leading to Ash smiling at her in return.

"In second place, as you have no doubt guessed with her performance yesterday, we have Cynthia!" Lance exclaimed joyously. The crowd cheered loudly in approval as they started chanting Cynthia's name.

"Someone's popular," Ash teased the blushing girl as the crowd continued chanting her name. She showed Ash her tongue in retaliation and quickly jogged to the stage where she received two awards from Lance, one gift, and one cash prize.

"And in first place, the winner of the tournament, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Ash Ketchum!" The crowd continued cheering as this time it was a blushing Ash who moved to the stage. He grinned at Lance as he too got two rewards, a cash prize and a box. His blush became brighter when he took the awards as the crowd started chanting his name as well.

He bashfully went and stood next to a smiling Cynthia who didn't miss the chance to tease him. "It looks like you are more popular than even I am," she laughed.

Ash didn't say anything, he just blushed further. As the photographer took the pictures, Ash was surprised when he felt a hand slipping into his. He turned to see a blushing Cynthia holding his hand before she raised their joint hands in victory. Ash started blushing once more, wondering why his face was heating up again. The adults just looked at the two teenagers with knowing smiles while the women in the audience had stars in their eyes.

As the ceremony was winding down, Ash and Cynthia looked at their awards. "Wow!" Cynthia muttered softly. "Look at the amount of money they have given us!"

"I know!" Ash said in shock, his eyes bulging at the figure written on the check. He knew that Lt. Surge said the money would be high, but this high? It was insane! Putting the cheque in the bag, he decided to see what was their other award.

"What did you get?" Ash asked curiously as he saw that Cynthia had the same idea as him and was going through the box that she got. She wordlessly turned it around to show it to him. Ash let out an impressed whistle as he saw the contents of the box. It was like the trainer pack of a rich kid. In the box were 2 of each type of pokeball. This included the normal pokeball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Lure Ball, Premier Ball, Repeat Ball, Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Luxury Ball, Heal Ball, Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, and the Cherish Ball. Along with them were various medicines, including antidotes, paralyze heals, potions, Super Potions, Hyper Potions, Full Heals. It was an amazing award.

"If the prize for getting second place is so good, I wonder what you got," she commented. Ash took the hint and opened the box he got. "Wow!" he muttered as he showed Cynthia the contents of the box. Inside were 2 of each type of evolution stones. This included the Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone, Moon Stone, Sun Stone, Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone, and the Dawn Stone.

"This is amazing, Ash," she muttered. "With this you can easily evolve your Pikachu and your Floette."

"Yeah," Ash said still in shock.

"So," Cynthia said as she got out of her surprise. "The ship docks in Lavender Town in an hour. What say we get one last meal before that?"

Ash grinned at her in reply. That was answer enough.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

Ash, Cynthia, Professor Sycamore, Leaf, and the Gym Leaders and Lance stood in the Lavender Town Police Department. The rest of the Elite Four had left, saying they had to get back to their duties. They couldn't take a vacation for long considering that Team Rocket was still causing problems everywhere. They watched with satisfaction as Damian was taken inside the jail.

Leaf turned to Lance and asked him a question. "So, what would happen to his pokémon now that he has been arrested?"

"They will be taken to a rehabilitation centre," Lance replied. "Once they are over the trauma they suffered, they will be released into the wild."

"Would you like to see them?" Sabrina suddenly asked. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "You guys did help them get free," she said as if it was logical, which it was. They nodded happily, pleased to be allowed to see the pokémon. They were led to the pokémon centre where they were shown inside a room. 15 pokémon were sitting there lazing around, and a peaceful atmosphere filled the room. The pokémon tensed when the door was opened but went back to relaxing when they saw who it was.

Seeing them at peace caused the young teenagers to smile happily. They knew that those pokémon must not have had any peace since they had been caught by Damian. Not wanting to disturb the pokémon, they turned to leave. However, a cry from behind them caused them to turn stop. They turned around to see the Growlithe hopping forward before coming to a stop before Ash who bent down and pet him.

"You can experience life freely now, Growlithe. Damian can never hurt you again," he said gently. Growlithe just looked at Ash with big, teary eyes that caused Ash to pull him into a hug and many females and even some males to aww at the sight. In the background, Lt. Surge was giving death glares to anyone who was snickering at him for making that sound. Not that it was helping since his image as this tough war veteran was kind of ruined, causing him to start sulking.

Ash was ignorant to the proceedings behind him as he pulled away from the hug. He held the Growlithe at arm's length and said, "I'm going to miss you. It was nice to meet you. Your new life will be much better than your old one, that much I can tell you."

As Ash stood up and turned around to leave, he felt a weight slam onto his leg. He turned to see the Growlithe looking at him pleadingly while crying.

"It looks like the Growlithe does not want you to go," Sabrina said with a hint of amusement in her voice. When she saw her fellow Gym Leaders and Lance snap their heads towards her, she continued. "Yes, I knew about this beforehand. And I made the correct choice. Ash was the one who broke down Growlithe's barriers. He taught him how to trust again. He taught him how beautiful the bond between a trainer and his pokémon can be. It would be cruel to the Growlithe to take it away from him now. Growlithe are a species that give their loyalty freely and once earned, they will move heaven and earth for their trainers. Ash has earned Growlithe's loyalty, something he had not been able to give his previous trainer. So, as I said before, the Growlithe has made his choice clear."

Ash was listening to this with astonishment. He turned to the Growlithe on his leg who was openly crying now. "Growlithe, is it true?" he asked. "Do you really wish to come with me?" The Growlithe nodded his head so fast that half the people were scared it would fall off. Ash turned to Lance ask him his opinion. The champion of the Kanto and Johto regions had a smile on his face from watching the events of the last minute. He gave Ash a nod telling him that it was okay with him.

Ash beamed at him before taking out a pokeball. He showed it to Growlithe who finally stopped crying and yelled with joy. The Puppy Pokémon happily pressed the centre of the pokeball with his head and was sucked into the pokeball. The pokeball did not even struggle once before it dinged to show a successful capture.

Ash raised the pokeball in joy. He had finally got a fire-type pokémon. Fate was weird at times. He had thought he would get a fire-type when he had caught a Charmander only for the Charmander to die. He had vowed revenge for the Charmander and had succeeded. And his new fire-type pokémon was in fact Charmander's replacement on Damian's team. Life had turned full cycle for them.

 **A/N: And that's that. My longest chapter to date. A bit about this chapter. The training scene went on for longer than I had expected and I know the first half of the chapter may be a little dull as it has very little action. I wanted to write a scene from Umbreon's point of view as I want to highlight her change in personality after her evolution. This will come through more in later chapters as she struggles between her old sweet personality as an Eevee and the nastier personality of dark-type pokémon.**

 **Don't read too much into Ash and Cynthia's interactions. They are two teenagers who have finally found an equal in each other, in their love for pokémon, their innate talent, and their desire to be the best. The both of them are teenagers and have a crush on each other, nothing more.**

 **The pace will pick up slightly now as Ash will catch more pokémon and Team Rocket makes its presence felt. Yes, for those who think I have forgotten that Team Rocket attacks S.S. Anne, I have not. They will return with a vengeance.**

 **I cannot promise when the next chapter will come out as I am quite busy with college, but I am promising that I will not abandon this story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Pokémon is the property of Nintendo. I own nothing.**

 **A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the late update but this chapter was really difficult to write. I had to re-type it 4 times before I was moderately happy with it. Real life and writer's block made it really difficult. This is not my best chapter, but it was the best I could do.**

 **I would like to thank all those who messaged me and encouraged me to continue writing. A big thanks to my two beta's Chiagirl and Statelineoftexas for making this chapter what it is.**

Team Rocket

It was a serene morning. Leaves glistened with the morning dew as the rays of the morning sun rose over the tall trees. Pokémon could be seen bustling around as they searched for their early morning meal. All said and done, it was a typical morning in any countryside of the Kanto region. The peace, however, was broken in one small clearing filled with numerous pokémon and two trainers.

A small bird type pokémon swooped in at speed at an orange-coloured canine pokémon who waited till the last second before rolling out of the way and shooting small embers at the bird pokémon. At such a small distance and left with no time to change trajectory, it looked like there would be no possible way for the bird to dodge the attack.

However, it shone with a white light as its speed increased dramatically, allowing it to dodge the attack with ease. It flew high once again before flapping its wings and sending a gust of wind at its opponent. It replied by shooting a long stream of fire at it. The air just flamed the fire allowing it to increase its potency and size. The bird, not knowing how to react to its attack being turned against it, didn't react in time as the fire struck it head on. It gave a cry of pain before succumbing to its injuries and losing consciousness.

The two humans walked to where the pokémon were battling. The blonde-haired girl moved to the bird pokémon and sprayed a revive on it while the boy moved to pet the orange-coloured puppy pokémon. The puppy licked its trainer's cheek before going to check up on its opponent who had recently gained consciousness.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but your Growlithe is just absolutely adorable!" Cynthia squealed to Ash as she bent down to scratch behind Growlithe's ears, earning a pleased rumble from him.

"I agree," smiled Ash. "He really cares for other pokémon."

"Isn't that the nature of the species?" questioned Cynthia deferring to Ash's greater knowledge of pokémon in the Kanto region as the two pokémon ran or flew over to the other pokémon.

"Growlithes are loyal pokémon and are fiercely protective of those they consider a part of their pack," Ash explained. "But this is only for those they consider family. So, either Growlithe here is unique and cares for all pokémon due to his past abuse, or he considers your pokémon to be a part of his pack as well."

"It could be a little bit of both," mused Cynthia. "After all, we have spent the last week training together." Cynthia had decided against going back to the Sinnoh region immediately to spend some more time with Ash and to explore the Kanto region and maybe catch a pokémon or two. The Pidgey that Growlithe just battled was one such pokémon. Cynthia had taken a shine to it as soon as she saw it and the Pidgey reciprocated the affection of the trainer. They had already formed a bond in the one week they had known each other.

The two had used the previous week to train their pokémon in a better manner. Monferno had taken Growlithe under his wing to help the fire-type pokémon get better control of his fire-type energy. Under the Playful Pokémon's guidance, Growlithe had finally learnt Flamethrower. Normally, Ash would not instruct any of his pokémon to learn such an advanced move so early, but since he had already spent more than a week trying to learn that attack, Ash decided it would give the puppy pokémon immense confidence if he finally learnt that attack.

Ash's Pikachu had returned the favour by taking Cynthia's recently caught Eelektrik under his wing. The EleFish pokémon had grown by leaps and bounds in the last week making both pokémon and trainer happy that she was finally catching up to her more powerful teammates.

The two pokémon who had benefited the most through this arrangement were the two dragons. Both pokémon had recently evolved and had used the past week to get used to their new bodies and their new found power. Since both dragons' already considerable power had increased by more than a third according to their estimation, it would take them a while to regain control. Well, at least in ordinary circumstances.

The two dragons had developed a rivalry with each other and had turned everything into a competition. What should have taken them a month had taken then just 6 days of hard work and trying to one up each other.

"So, what did you think of Pidgey's performance?" Ash asked Cynthia. This had become a ritual of theirs. Every day, a pokémon from each team would spar. Ash and Cynthia would then analyse the battle to look at potential weaknesses and flaws and learn from one another, getting perspective into things they did not have before.

"I'm happy with his speed," Cynthia commented. "He has grown faster in the last week alone and the exercises you suggested have definitely helped him. He also recovered well from his missed tackle attack to dodge the ember," she praised her pokémon. "However," she continued with a frown, "he needs to get a better grasp of which move to use against which pokémon. Your Growlithe beat him too easily today."

"True," Ash conceded. "But you have to remember that Pidgey was a wild pokémon a week back. He will get a better sense of battle through experience. Also, I think he was handicapped by a limited move pool and the opposition today. The only flying-type attack he knows is gust which was easily used against him by the Flamethrower."

"I don't deny that, Ash," Cynthia smiled. "The battle just brought out how much training Pidgey needs which is what I wanted."

"And the training would become easier once he evolves. I cannot believe that Pidgey is so close to evolving only a week after you caught him!"

"That surprises me as well," confessed Cynthia. "I'm guessing he was already trying to evolve in the wild. Training under me and the more powerful pokémon we have must have expedited his growth."

"Hmm," Ash mused. "Does that mean any pokémon we catch now will grow faster than normal till they reach the level of the other pokémon in the team?"

"It could be. After all, even your Growlithe is growing faster than normal. Speaking of the pup, how do you think he did?"

"He has good instincts," Ash said thoughtfully as he reflected on the short battle. "The last-minute dodge and the ember at point blank range was a good combination. His flamethrower looked weak, though. It shows that while he has learnt the move, he is nowhere close to mastering it."

"Growlithe is still young. The more he grows and trains, the more powerful will his attack be. The fact that he even learnt Flamethrower so soon is astounding," commented Cynthia. "For now, I think you should concentrate on the more traditional attacks. As he masters them and the energy present in his own body, his power will increase automatically."

"Something tells me you know that from experience," Ash said with a smirk on his face. "Did you try to teach your Monferno more powerful attacks from the beginning?" he teased.

"I was young...and inexperienced," she said with a blush on her face. "I thought the more powerful a move a pokémon knows, the more powerful it would be. Oh, shut up," she snapped on hearing Ash's laughter. "Not all of us can be lucky enough to be taught by the most experienced of the regional professors," she finished with a pout on her face.

"Haha, I'm sorry," laughed Ash. "No, I am!" Ash insisted on seeing Cynthia's disbelieving look. "I'm really grateful for your help this week. I doubt Growlithe could have grown this much without it."

"It's alright, Ash. You helped me just as much with Pidgey. So, I say we're even," she replied as they started walking towards their pokémon. They quickly withdrew all pokémon other than Kadabra who teleported them to the Lavender Town Pokémon Centre. Ash quickly withdrew Kadabra and both trainers gave Nurse Joy their pokémon for a quick check-up while they went for breakfast.

They had formed a routine over the last week where their pokémon would be treated for fatigue and any injuries by Nurse Joy while they had their meals. Nurse Joy would not only heal them, but she would also feed them the food essential to their growth. The electric pokémon were getting a daily dose of electricity to feed off of to strengthen their core, while the baby Rhyhorn was getting rocks with the essential minerals that she needed to grow properly.

"So, Ash," Cynthia started the conversation. "You've spent a week with Spiritomb now. Have you thought of catching a ghost-type pokémon for your team?"

"I don't know. I already have two new additions to my team in the last few days. Training another has the possibility of becoming difficult."

"Two new pokémon?" she questioned, while putting a berry in her mouth. "I thought the only pokémon you had recently caught was the Growlithe?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot that you haven't seen her! A couple of days before the tournament, my egg hatched into a Rhyhorn!"

"You had an egg?!"

"Yeah. I found it in the wild and couldn't find its parent pokémon. By the time I reached a town to give it to someone from the League, it had already formed a bond with me. They said it will be more harmful for the egg if it is separated from me. So, they allowed me to raise it."

"Can I see her?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. I have been warned to not let anyone other than my family come into contact with her for a month or so, till she becomes more mature."

"I guess that makes sense. But if I am not mistaken, she cannot train right now, right? Since she was born recently."

"Yes, she cannot train for another two months at the very least. Ideally, I should wait for 3 months before I start training her."

"Then there is only one new pokémon whose training you have to manage, right? You can easily add another pokémon to your party."

"Hmm, I guess you are right."

"What's wrong, Ash? Something else is bothering you about ghost-type pokémon other than managing their training."

"No, not really," he denied.

"I know you better than that, Ash," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Fine," Ash said after a sigh. "Ghost-type pokémon are said to be mischievous. While it will not be a bother to the rest of my pokémon, I do not want to take a chance with Rhyhorn for the next few months."

"Ash," Cynthia explained gently. "You do know that not all ghost-type pokémon are mischievous, right? While the probability of finding a mischievous ghost-type pokémon is higher than for any other type, you can find ghost-type pokémon of different types as well. Take my Spiritomb for example. It is my most serious pokémon."

"Yeah, I guess…"

"And I am sure you know this. So, while this explanation may work on someone else, I know you too well for it to work on me. So, tell me. What is the real reason you are reluctant to catch a ghost-type pokémon?"

Ash gave a long sigh. "You know, it's kind of annoying that you to see through my lies so easily. To be honest, I am just not fond of ghost-type pokémon. Something about them just creeps me out," he confessed.

"Oh, so there is a pokémon type that bothers the big, bad pokémon master in training," teased Cynthia before laughing at Ash's disgruntled face. "Let's do one thing. I am going to visit the Pokémon Tower at Lavender Town after breakfast. Spiritomb wants to visit other ghost-type pokémon. You can accompany me and see if there are any pokémon that catch your fancy. You get along with my Spiritomb just fine. I'm sure you can bond with a ghost pokémon in the wild in a similar manner." she suggested.

"That's a good idea," Ash agreed. "I was planning on visiting the Tower before we left Lavender Town anyway. I wanted to pay me respect to the fallen pokémon."

"Then it's decided! We'll go there now!" Cynthia exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the reception to collect their pokémon.

"Cynthia! Let me finish breakfast first!" Ash complained with the indignance of a Snorlax being taken away from its food, with Cynthia's laughter not helping his anger at all.

 **At the same time, at a secret location**

A strange bipedal, humanoid creature stared at the scenery below as it floated above, hidden from the world. A strange power bent the light around it rendering it invisible to the rest. On one side, it could see numerous humans and pokémon together. Some were training, while others were eating food. It saw some of them just sitting together and conversing with each other while others were just running around chasing each other for no reason.

The creature tilted its head in confusion wondering what those humans and pokémon were doing. Training, it could understand. Eating it could understand as well, even though it had not needed sustenance. It had seen other humans and pokémon eat and knew that they needed food to survive. But the others were new to it. A frown made way on its face and its long tail swished back and forth.

These pokémon and the humans alongside them seemed happy. This was new. In its admittedly short life, it had seen many pokémon but none of them had looked happy. _None!_ Most of them looked like they wanted to get as far away from the humans as possible and only followed orders because they had no choice but to do so. These pokémon were beaten into submission, their minds broken, living their lives as a shadow of their former selves.

The other pokémon it encountered were just bat shit insane. These pokémon hurt others – be it humans or other pokémon – just for their own pleasure. Their personalities matched the humans they were with perfectly, and they played a major role in cowing the other pokémon into submission.

A vindictive smirk came onto its face as it remembered the time these pokémon had tried doing the same to it. It had not taken it long to show them the error of their ways. After all, how could normal pokémon hurt it, when it was perfection personified? A twitch of one of its three fingers and those pokémon regretted even thinking that they could hurt it. It had shown them mercy initially when they had tried to attack it as individuals, as it had read in a book that some alphas try to assert their dominance over newcomers and had assumed these foolish, misguided pokémon had tried to do the same to it. Foolish, but understandable. So, it had let them go with only a few bruises.

However, those fools did not understand just how inferior they were. Instead of acknowledging they were beaten, they banded together to try to hurt it. This time, it had been less merciful. It decided not only to beat them up, but also to stop them from doing anything like this ever again. Hence, it had used 5% of its power. 3 weeks later, all 20 of them were still in the hospital and would not be recovering any time soon.

It snorted in disdain as it came out of its reminiscing and returned its focus to the new phenomena in front of it. Being born in a laboratory and then raised in isolation, it was eager to explore the world and learn new things. For some reason, the more it learned, the more powerful and refined its power became. So, it resumed watching those pokémon and humans and trying to figure out just what the heck were they doing.

It saw one pokémon chase another before catching up to it and tackling it to the ground. What surprised it was that the former did not start hurting the latter after tackling it to the ground. Instead, it started running away and the second pokémon started chasing now. A brief flicker of amusement went through its mind as a third pokémon joined the fray and tackled both the pokémon to the ground, making them whine in annoyance. The confusion was back in full force as the human overseeing them let out a sound from its mouth. It sounded a lot like laughter, but at the same time it was not. Laughter was associated with causing others pain and humiliation, this is what it had learnt. However, none of those were present in this situation. So, was there another emotion that sounded a lot like laughter, but wasn't? After a moment of contemplation, the creature decided this sound must be unique to the human below it, as none of the humans it had observed so far had ever made a sound like this.

Its sharp ears caught the sound of approaching aircrafts. No matter how the humans tried to muffle the sound of the engines through their technology, it wasn't enough to mask the sound from its ears. As expected. After all, it was perfection personified. Its sharp eyes ( _after all, everything about myself is_ …. _perfect_ , it mused. _Hmm, perhaps I have used that particular word to describe everything about myself. This would not do. A creature as perfect as myself needs more words to describe just how perfect I am. Perhaps I should try to increase my vocabulary? Yes, that is logical. I should read the thesaurus after this mission is over._ )

Anyway, its eyes followed the figures of the humans in the black uniformjumping of the aircrafts. A piece of cloth came from the instrument they had tied across their bodies and it slowed down the pace of their descent as they now floated towards the building above which it was floating. Multiple flashes of light caught its eyes as it saw numerous flying-type pokémon released from their pokeballs ( _and how it hated the very concept of being chained to a pokeball!_ ) The flying-type pokémon made their way to the humans it was observing previously and released their attacks at them. The humans and pokémon under attack let out shouts of surprise before they recovered admirably fast ( _credit where credit is due,_ it mused) and started fighting back.

The creature was once again surprised as it saw the humans actually call back some of the younger looking pokémon instead of telling them to attack. Maybe they were children? From what it had observed so far, humans only treated pokémon as toys to be sacrificed to achieve victory. The battle had begun in earnest, as the humans in the black uniform reached the building as well and released their remaining pokémon. It watched the battle curiously as attacks of all elements flew around the makeshift battlefield. The humans in the black uniform used mostly poison-type and dark-type pokémon while the other set of humans used all types of them. Before it could determine which side would win, it received its orders.

It teleported to one of the aircrafts and stood in front of the purple-haired, black-eyed leader of this mission. What was his name again? Peter? Pretzel? Yes, Pretzel sounded right.

"Let's go," he commanded. It nodded in affirmative as it had already been briefed on the mission. It concentrated briefly to teleport before stopping in surprise when it bounced off something. That had never happened before. It increased its powers slightly but the results were the same. It cocked its head to one side as it thought of the new issue it was facing.

"What is taking so long?" The human's impatient voice cut through its concentration.

' _Something is blocking my teleportation, Pretzel.'_

"It's Petrel! Not Pretzel!" The human snarled. His anger only increased as a brief burst of amusement filled his mind. He took a deep breath to rein in his temper. "There are psychic barriers around the place to prevent pokémon from teleporting in. Those barriers must be blocking you."

' _Is that so? Interesting.'_ With that said, the creature's eyes began to glow as it started channelling its power. Nothing happened for a few seconds before the both of them vanished suddenly. A few miles away, a loud cracking sound was heard as the psychic barriers surrounding the building were suddenly broken. Human and creature suddenly appeared in front of a prison cell in which a green haired man was sitting while humming happily. A sense of foreboding went through the creature's spine as it laid its eyes on the man. It could literally sense the insanity rolling off of him.

"Oh?" he questioned as he noticed his visitors. "If it isn't Petrel? Did Boss finally decide it is time to free me? How sad, I was beginning to enjoy it in here!" the green-haired man exclaimed.

"We can leave you here, if that's what you want," Pretzel commented in a stiff voice. The creature could sense that the purple-haired man was not a fan of the green-haired one.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding!" And this time the creature recognised the laughter for what it was. "After all, if I stay here, who is going to whip the newbies into shape? I look forward to this." And the creature felt a sliver of sympathy for the first time in its short life at the smile on that insane man's face. "Oh, and I almost forgot! I have to pay that punk a visit as well. I heard he and his pokémon survived my Crobat's attack. We can't have that, can we?" he laughed once again.

The purple-haired man turned towards it and said, "Get his pokémon. Do what you wish to the people you encounter on the way."

Not liking being ordered around by this inferior human, it merely stated, _'As you wish, Pretzel,'_ before teleporting away. As he did, he cast his mind to his previous location to hear the green-haired man laughing and mocking said Pretzel while he seethed in obvious annoyance. It sent a brief surge of vindictive amusement at that man before focusing on its task. It went to where the pokémon were kept and with a brief surge of its power, it freed them. Not wanting to waste time proving its dominance, it flared its power at the pokémon and commanded, _Come_. The pokémon quickly fell in line with it. While walking towards those two humans, it quickly and systematically defeated all humans and pokémon on its path, a small part of it disappointed at the lack of fight it was given.

It reached the humans and teleported the lot of them back to the aircraft. An alarm rang out signalling the rest of the humans in the black uniform to get back onto the various aircraft. The creature once again teleported above the building. It raised its hand and concentrated its power onto it as a black ball filled with ghostly energy began to form in it. As it waited for the humans to finish retreating, it thought back to its first experience outside of its laboratory or the Headquarters of what is known as Team Rocket.

All said, it was happy with this outing. It had seen some things common with the headquarters while some things were new to it. It saw some pokémon and humans happily coexisting, saw the humans let out a sound which sounded like laughter but had all the wrong emotions attached to it, it realised that it had to expand its vocabulary to better describe itself, and it even got to raise its power to half its maximum power to break those shields that had stopped it from teleporting. The only drawback was that it didn't get a good fight, but as it had read somewhere, you can't have everything.

As it released its ball of power at the building and teleported back to Headquarters, it wondered if the other missions went as smoothly as this one had gone. It doubted that. After all, the other missions didn't have the privilege of having it on their team. And it was perfection. As the squadron of aircraft turned around and made their way back to where they had come from, the black ball of energy impacted the building and expanded to cover a ten-mile radius from its impact point. A massive explosion could be felt and heard by all those in the aircraft and as they turned back to the explosion, they could see nothing remained. Building, humans, pokémon, all gone in a flash of light.

 _ **At the same time, Celadon City**_

Dozens of members of Team Rocket filed into the Celadon City Departmental Store in disguise. Their aim? To steal as many medicines and TMs as possible. The former more than the latter for while they did not have a shortage of the technical machines, they ran out of medicines quite quickly with the number of fights the members of Team Rocket got into. At least that was the official reason. Only Jimmy knew the real reason.

He had been tasked to lead the Celadon City mission. While an Executive was leading Team Rocket's efforts in Celadon City, he was a part of another mission, one more important than stealing medicines. In fact, the main purpose of the mission was not that. Stealing the medicines and any other item to help further their cause was just a bonus. The main reason they are carrying out this task was to sow as much chaos as possible, to tell the world that Team Rocket exists and that there was nothing that the League could do to stop them.

Unfortunately, they hit a snag almost immediately.

Before Jimmy could issue any commands, he was confronted by the last person he wanted to see today. The black-haired, green-eyed woman wearing a kimono was recognisable everywhere in the Kanto region, but especially in Celadon City. After all, Erika was famous for being the Celadon City Gym Leader, the leader and protector of the city.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do what you want to do, member of Team Rocket," she said pleasantly. "So, if you would be kind enough to surrender your pokeballs and come with us to the police station, you would make it easier for all of us."

As she said this, Jimmy noticed three Ace Trainers standing behind her, and instantly knew the mission was a failure. Even if Team Rocket had them surrounded six trainers to one, their opponents had quality. Each Ace Trainer was at least as good as him while Erika was widely regarded as the 10th best trainer in the Kanto Region. She could defeat all 25 members of Team Rocket on her own and hardly break a sweat.

But the situation could yet be salvaged. His fellow Team Rocket members didn't need to know how badly they were outmatched. While they may not be able to steal anything, they could cause a lot of chaos before they were finally defeated. With that in mind, he replied, "Oh, you think you can beat us? Lady, I think you are underestimating the might of Team Rocket!" Unclipping a pokeball from his belt, he plastered the most confident smirk he can muster on his face and continued, "I think it's time you League members learned exactly where you stand. Come on Rockets! Let's crush these insects!" he shouted the last part, getting a cheer from his teammates as he sent out his Rapidash. Hey, just because he didn't want to run into Erika did not mean he wasn't prepared for this eventuality.

And as his teammates followed his lead and took out their pokémon, he let out a delighted laugh at the incredulous expressions on the League members' faces when they realised a fight was about to break out inside the departmental store where many innocent bystanders were in harm's way. _'Well,'_ he mused, _'Boss wanted us to create chaos. Let's see how much chaos we can rain down on this city before being defeated.'_

 _ **At the same time, Saffron City**_

Saffron City was important for their plans in the future; Proton knew that as he stared at the massive gates at the entrance to Saffron City. He hadn't been informed as to exactly why it was so important to his boss, but that was irrelevant. . Since he was an Executive, it meant that no one in the organisation other than Boss knew about it. All he knew was that their plans for the City were focused around Silph Co.

This mission was to do a reconnaissance of the city. They knew that Saffron City was probably the most difficult place to attack because it was under the protection of Sabrina. No one knew exactly how powerful she was. There were rumours that the only trainers more powerful than her in Kanto were Lance and Agatha. That rumour was part of the reason he was here with 50 grunts. He was a powerful trainer – second only to the Boss. Ideally, he should be able to defeat any gym leader. So, he was the ideal person to test Sabrina, to determine whether or not she lived up to her hype or not.

He turned to the grunts accompanying him. "I am not going to sugar-coat this. Sabrina is a powerful trainer – more powerful than any of you. But that is why I am here. I will be her opponent while you guys are there to support me. However, if things get difficult, I want you guys to withdraw from the battle. Your first priority should always be to yourself."

Proton was a unique member of Team Rocket that way. He was the only Executive who cared for his colleagues. His charisma, power, and empathy was why he was the most beloved member of the organisation. It was also why he was their main recruiter. He inspired loyalty amongst the Team Rocket members in the same way his cousin did for the League.

"Now, our mission is the fighting dojo in the city," he continued, knowing that they couldn't let the League get a hint of their plans for Silph Co. "They have the best trained fighting-type pokémon in the Kanto Region after Bruno, so capturing them will be helpful – " he cut his sentence short as the air in front of them distorted to show Sabrina with three Ace Trainers behind her.

"I am afraid that I cannot let you enter this city, Cousin of Lance," Sabrina said. "Whatever your plans are for Saffron City, they will never come to fruition."

"What do you mean by that?" Proton replied mockingly, his face turning into an ugly scowl at the reminder of his family. "I'm sure you heard me mention our mission to my people, or are your psychic powers not as great as you make them out to be?"

Sabrina stared back at him before her lips shifted into a smile. That smile sent Proton's danger senses haywire; he was experienced enough to know that nothing good would come of that smile. "If you think I will believe that for a second, you must think I am stupid. So, I will ask you to politely tell me your real mission, before I take it from your mind."

"I can assure you that you have overheard our mission here," he replied with a roll of his eyes before smirking at her. "You will realise that on your own soon enough."

"Hmm, judging by the small number of grunts behind you, I am guessing this is not an isolated incident. Which means that you are attacking and capturing pokémon elsewhere to disguise the real reason you are here," she mused out loud as she stared at her adversary. "Well, it doesn't look like you will give me a straight answer, so we will have to do it the hard way," she said as two Alakazam materialised beside her.

"Eager, are we?" Proton taunted to cover the panic he was feeling at Sabrina unravelling their plan so quickly as he took out two pokeballs, an action mirrored by the grunts and the Ace Trainers.

"If my hypothesis is correct, I am needed elsewhere as well," was her quick reply as the battle commenced.

 _ **At the same time, Pallet Town**_

Dozens of grunts were following Apprentice Susan as they entered Professor Oak's Laboratory. As to why so many grunts were needed? The answer was simple. There were hundreds of pokémon at the laboratory, so they needed almost as many grunts to capture them. On top of that, the League had provided no protection to this small Town, so it should be a quick and easy job. Or so they thought.

Unfortunately, Apprentice Susan was the apprentice to Executive Archer. So, while she was a powerful trainer in her own right, especially for her age, her sensei hadn't really taught her much else. If he had, she would not have chosen this mission, for it was her decision to attack Pallet Town. While the parameters of the mission were to capture as many pokémon as possible, the Apprentices were given free rein to conduct the mission as they so wished.

Anyway, if Executive Archer had taught her better, she would have realised why the League had not placed any of its members in Pallet Town. And that reason became clear as they realised that the field around them was empty. At the next instant, an Alakazam materialised in front of them. At its side was an Arcanine glaring down at them. The sun disappeared from view as they were covered by two massive shadows. The members of Team Rocket looked up to see a massive Charizard and an even more massive Dragonite. They gulped in unison as their gaze was drawn to Professor Oak walking towards the Alakazam and the Arcanine.

It was then they realised their mistake. The League had not provided any protection to Pallet Town because they already had protection, in the form of a former champion. A really, really pissed off champion if his expression indicated anything. _'Yep,'_ they thought in unison, _'we're screwed.'_

 _ **At the same time, Pewter City**_

A disguised Dean led 4 disguised grunts into the Pewter City Museum. There were rumours that the museum housed fossils of ancient pokémon and it was their job to steal them. He had been planning this mission for days and had finally managed to enter the restricted area of the museum where the fossils were reportedly housed. He had gained access to this area and the guards were ten thousand yen richer, so it was a win-win situation for both parties.

This area was quiet. There was no one around, which made the theft that much easier. "Spread around and find them," he instructed. "Look for a piece of rock which has a leaf, a skull, or a shell of some sort preserved in it." As he said this, the four grunts split up to the different sides of the room while he moved towards its centre.

As he moved around the various pieces and equipment on display, he thought that he had struck jackpot. He thought he had struck gold when he spotted a massive piece of rock, around half his height. As he walked towards it, he noticed that the side facing him was free of any indentation. He rotated the piece of rock and let out a startled yell as arms unfolded from the piece of rock. What was worse was that he heard similar yells from the grunts as well.

They heard the door to the room open and turned to see Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader enter the room. "So, you are the ones who tried to steal the fossils, huh? Who do you work for?" Before he could get any response, he continued. "It doesn't matter, there'll be plenty of time to figure that out when you are in jail. Graveler, knock them out."

That was the last thing the members of Team Rocket heard as the massive arm of the Graveler struck them in the back of their head knocking them out.

 _ **At the same time, Fuchsia City**_

Fuchsia City was supposed to be under the protection of Gym Leader Koga. It was an important city, housing the Safari Zone which had a number of rare pokémon. It was all that made the Kanto Region perfectly habitable for pokémon to live in. Perfect weather throughout the year along with lush green fields which housed the majority of the pokémon there, plenty of deep water lakes for the water pokémon, along with two mountain ranges that were present at the northern end of the Zone for the pokémon that preferred to live at an altitude. The League had spared no expense to make this a perfect place for pokémon to prosper.

All of this had made Fuchsia City one of the most visited cities in the Kanto Region. Plenty of poachers had tried their luck to capture the rare pokémon present in the Safari Zone but were always captured by the numerous Ace Trainers present there. If the Ace Trainers were somehow overwhelmed, the poachers had to contend with Koga, a trainer who had barely lost the Elite Four spot to Lorelei, and the one who was a sure-shot to become a member of the Elite Four when Agatha finally retired.

However, that loss to Lorelei also changed Koga. While he took an active part in protecting the Safari Zone, and Fuchsia City in general, he had become a recluse after his loss. He had changed the location of his gym to the outskirts of the city and had stopped venturing out to perform his duties as a gym leader. That was one of the reasons that Apprentice Robert had decided to take more than four dozen grunts with him to capture pokémon from the Safari Zone.

He asked the grunts to wait for him outside as he entered the Safari Zone. He had entered the Safari Zone biweekly for the last four weeks in order to scope the place out. Thus, it was to nobody's surprise that the Ace Trainers present at the reception desk greeted him with some degree of familiarity.

"Robert!" one of them exclaimed cheerfully. "Back again? This is your ninth visit in the last month. I doubt you will be able to find a pokémon here that you haven't found already," she commented as she took out the tray in which trainers kept their pokeballs in before entering the Safari Zone.

"I'm sure it will be different this time," he replied politely. On his signal, three shadows split from his own. Two of them went to the two Ace Trainers behind the desk while the third moved swiftly to the corner of the room behind him. A second later, three thumps were heard as all three Ace Trainers – even the one hidden behind the corner of the room – slumped unconscious.

Robert knew that while Executive Proton had trained him well, he was nowhere close to being good enough to defeat an Ace Trainer, much less three. Thus, he came up with this plan. He had put in a lot of effort on befriending the Ace Trainers, using the tips that his sensei had taught him. The three Haunter would sneak up on the Ace Trainers and knock them out, while he distracted the Ace Trainers who would be more relaxed at the sight of a familiar face.

He moved to the entrance of the building and said, "The coast is clear. Come on, let's go." As the members of Team Rocket filed in behind him, one of them noticed the moving chests of the Ace Trainers.

"Hey!" he exclaimed angrily. "These League fuckers are still alive!"

"I know that," Robert replied coolly. "And that will remain so," he added sharply on seeing the grunt make a move towards the Ace Trainers. " _Do not_ forget who is charge of this mission."

The grunts behind him may complain, but Robert didn't care. He was the apprentice to Executive Proton – the second in command of Team Rocket, and not some mindless killer. Some standards had to be maintained. "Come on. These three Ace Trainers are responsible for the first area of the Safari Zone. That should leave us with plenty of pokémon to capture. I'm estimating that we have an hour before we are discovered. Now, get to it," he said as he led the grunts into the Safari Zone.

 _ **At the same time, in the grasslands less than a kilometre to the west of Lavender Town**_

Two twins were sparring with each other. These two pokémon had hatched from their eggs a few months back and had recently started their training. Normally, wild pokémon did not venture this close to a city, as the number of humans passing through that area were higher. However, their auras had been behaving differently for the last week. There was a feeling that was giving a tug to their auras, letting them know that they should be close to Lavender City.

Auras were a form of spiritual energy present in all living beings. It is the essence of all living creatures and the reason why pokémon bond so well with their trainers. To form a successful partnership, the auras of both the trainer and the pokémon should resonate with one another. This led to them understanding each other with the passage of time. Humans didn't start comprehending a pokémon's language. They started to understand the pokémon on a spiritual level as the bond between them strengthened. Conversely, aura was also the reason why some pokémon and their trainers never form a partnership, no matter how much effort they put into it as sometimes, their auras just didn't resonate. At such times, it is best for both parties if they went their separate ways.

Riolu were special pokémon, as their mother had explained to them when questioned about their feelings over the last week. Their species was in tune with their aura from birth, and could even feel the auras of other living creatures. This allowed them to identify potential trainers with ease. What took other pokémon weeks to identify would take them just a glance and an instinctive understanding of whether or not their auras would resonate with a trainer's or not.

The feeling they had been getting since the start of the week was this. Their potential trainers were in the vicinity of Lavender Town, meaning that there was a high probability that they would be captured by a trainer in the coming few days. They had the previous week to come to terms with it. Their father had trained under a trainer and had grown immensely under her, so they knew the level a pokémon could reach under a trainer, something that worked perfectly well with their aim to be the most powerful pokémon possible.

Since then, they had spent their time close to the town training, waiting for the day that they would come face-to-face with their potential trainers. Their parents had drilled the basic katas into their heads. These katas would form a base for a style that would suit them individually once they grew older and became more powerful.

Which brought them back to what they are doing right now. They are practicing the katas their mother had taught them on each other. Their parents were powerful fighting-type pokémon and had advised them to get used to the motions of the katas, to make them muscle memory. They had decided that the best way to do so was to use it on one another. In this way, not only do they practice the offensive part of the katas, but they also focused on the dodging and blocking aspect of them. Having a sparring partner even allowed them to correct each other's mistakes and grow quicker.

Lee, the male sibling, saw the punch coming his way and swerved to his right while raising his foot in a counter. Rothrock, his sister, was no slouch, and ducked underneath his kick, as a yellow coloured energy ball formed in her palm which she sent towards his midsection. Not to be deterred, his body gained an orange hue as he twisted away, using the momentum gained from his motion to send a powerful kick towards her face.

Rothrock, caught by surprise, barely managed to raise her arms in a block as the force of the kick sent her flying back. She twisted in the air to land on her feet, using her heels to bound forward to continue the spar. The same yellow coloured ball of energy formed in each of their palms as they rushed towards each other. However, just before they were going to launch their attacks, they stopped. As one, they swivelled their heads towards the town to their east.

' _Do you feel that?'_ Lee asked.

' _Yes,'_ his sister replied. _'There is a massive disturbance in the auras of many pokémon! And humans too!'_

' _I can feel their fear. It's….it's…overwhelming. I have never felt anything like this before!'_

' _There's not only fear. I can sense anger, frustration, sorrow, and helplessness as well.'_

' _And beneath all that, I can also sense malice.'_ Lee shivered as he said these words. While their mother had spent a big chunk of their life explaining the various emotions their auras could detect, they had experienced malice only once in a particularly nasty Fearow. And that Fearow had nothing on what they could sense right now.

' _We should go check it out. They might need our help!'_ said Rothrock with a tinge of urgency in her voice.

' _Are you sure?'_ Lee questioned hesitantly. _'While it is too far for us to sense, I think whatever is happening over in that city is above our heads! Mum and Dad are not here either!'_

Their parents may have coddled them for the first month of their lives but had started to leave them on their own with increasing frequency and for longer durations lately. It would allow them to become independent and learn to live in this world. It is the way of the wild pokémon and would help them immensely once they were caught by trainers. And with them being so close to the city, there were no other wild pokémon in the vicinity to help them either.

' _I know! But how can we sit here and do nothing while sensing all that is happening over there?!'_

' _And what will we accomplish by trying to help? I want to help as much as you want to, but if what I am sensing is accurate, I don't think we will be of any help!'_

' _You yourself admit that we are too far away to get an accurate sense of what is happening over there!'_ Rothrock argued back. _'Let's do one thing. Let us go to the City and get closer to the action. Once we have more of an idea about what is going on, then we can make a call. What do you say?'_

' _Okay!'_ Lee replied. While he tried to be the voice of reason – he thought it was his responsibility to do so since he was the older twin – he was just as hot blooded as his twin. They both had an innate desire to help the wild pokémon who were giving off such strong negative emotions and to prove their worth against the evil forces that were threatening them. _'However, if the situation seems to be over our head, we will get help! There are bound to be trainers in the Town that can help us!'_

' _Fine! Let's just go!'_ the younger of the twins exclaimed as she rushed towards the city. They ran at a moderate speed so as not to get too tired by the time they reached the city. Still, they were two powerful young pokémon and managed to cover the distance in 3 minutes. Upon entering the Town, their auras started pulsating in their bodies, letting them know their potential trainers were nearby. They ignored it for now to make a beeline towards the huge tower to the north of the City as they could sense the disturbance from there. Standing outside the tower, they used their aura to sense what is going on inside.

' _Can you sense that?'_ Lee asked. _'It seems like a huge fight is going on in there!'_

' _Yes. The wild pokémon are being attacked! Whoever they are, they have a huge type advantage over the wild pokémon. I can also sense a few trainers helping the wild pokémon in repelling the attack.'_

' _It doesn't help that the wild pokémon seem to be getting weaker by the minute. The pokémon that belong to the trainers seem to be holding on for now but looking at the quantity of their opposition, it is a matter of when and not if they will be defeated. We are just two wild pokémon who have started their training a couple of weeks back. This is way above us.'_

' _Agreed. We have to get help! On our way here, my aura sang to me. My potential trainer is nearby. Perhaps we can go to her for help?'_

' _My aura told me the same thing. My potential trainer is in this town as well. Let us go look for them.'_

Coming to a decision, they turned and started running around the town. While what they are doing may seem weird, in reality, they were sending out their auras to find the exact source of the aura that will resonate with theirs. Their auras acted as a honing device and a few seconds later, it led them to a building with a pink rooftop. As they came to a stop in front of the entrance to the building, its doors opened and out stepped a raven-haired boy and a blonde-haired girl. Time stood still for a second as the older twin stared into the eyes of the boy and the younger one stared into the eyes of the girl. It looked like they had found their potential trainers.

 _ **Back with Ash and Cynthia**_

After stuffing themselves to the brim, the two young trainers went to Nurse Joy to collect their pokémon.

"Hi, Nurse Joy! Are our pokémon done with their breakfast?" Cynthia asked politely.

"Yes, they are. It's not really surprising with the time you two spend eating," she teased gently.

"That's because of this bottomless stomach over here," Cynthia nodded sagely at Ash.

"Oye!" Ash protested, "You eat just as much as I do!"

"That is just not true," she sniffed in response. "You eat like a hungry Snorlax!"

"I have to agree with Ash," Nurse Joy commented. "You do eat just as much as him."

"Nurse Joy!" the trainer from Sinnoh whined. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

The nurse giggled at the banter she had developed with the two of them over the past week. "Anyway, here are your pokémon. I'm sure you two have more training to do. I must say, your Pidgey looks close to evolving, Cynthia. It's remarkable. I have never seen a pokémon grow so quickly under a trainer before. It looks like you have earned your reputation of being a prodigy."

"Ah, thank you Nurse Joy," she commented bashfully. It was another trait she shared with Ash – not being able to take praise well. "However, please do not call me a prodigy. I have reached where I am through continuous hard work and hours spent training with my pokémon. I'm sure Ash will agree with me as well."

"I do," Ash affirmed. "I have constantly prepared myself for the road to be a master since I was a young boy. Reaching where I have reached and getting praise from the Gym Leaders and Lance is a culmination of my efforts over the years. It's not prodigious talent but meticulous preparation combined with hard work and the luck of having the best mother in the world to guide me," he finished with Cynthia nodding alongside him in agreement.

"Oh, I have no doubt that you two worked hard," Nurse Joy calmly said trying to placate them. "However, you two do not see what I do. What the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four have. We see many trainers over the years who work hard and put in the effort required. Yet, there is something special about the two of you that makes you stand out. You may not believe me," she continued over their disbelieving expressions, "but it's true. You two will see it when you grow older."

"If you say so, Nurse Joy," Cynthia commented, her tone showing how much she disbelieved the nurse but found it pointless to argue with her. "Come on, Ash. We only have a couple of days left to train before I leave for Sinnoh. I want to see if I can get Pidgey to evolve!" After saying this, she clipped her pokeballs on her belt and waited for Ash to do the same for his pokeballs before grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the pokémon centre.

"Hey, wait! Let me release Pikachu first. And I need to release Kadabra so that he can teleport us to the clearing!"

"Well, then! What are you waiting for?" she asked as she released her hold of his hand.

"Geez, what's your rush? I hope you do not pressure Pidgey to evolve in the next couple of days. A pokémon evolves when it feels like it, not when the trainer wants it to."

"Oh, I know that Ash," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I just know that he is close to evolving now and a small push is all he needs. I'm just excited, that's all."

The two continued to bicker with each other as they now walked towards the door at a more sedate pace. As the automatic sliding doors of the centre opened when the sensor sensed their approach, the two trainers had a weird feeling going through their bodies. As they exited the door, their eyes were drawn towards the small, blue, bipedal pokémon who came up to their knees. As they stared into the red eyes of the pokémon in front of them, that weird feeling in their bodies intensified. The trainers and pokémon stared at each other as if in a trance for a few seconds before snapping out of it.

"Riolu!" Ash exclaimed in surprise at seeing the Emanation Pokémon. While it wasn't a rare pokémon in the Sinnoh Region, it was difficult to catch as it was notorious for being picky about the trainer that it would listen to. However, since it was as rare as a Dratini in the Kanto Region, Ash's surprise at seeing two of them was justified.

"Hello, Riolu!" Cynthia said with a warm smile on her face as she squatted down to their level. Since she had been born and raised in the Sinnoh Region, these two were not the first Riolu she had come across, so she got over her surprise quicker than Ash. "I'm guessing that weird feeling in my body was because of your aura?" she asked causing Ash to look at her in surprise.

"Weird feeling?" he asked as the Riolu in front of Cynthia nodded her head. "Even I felt that when we were exiting the pokémon centre. Are you saying that the Riolu are responsible for it?"

"Yes," she replied not surprised with Ash's lack of knowledge in this regard. While he may know of the Emanation Pokémon due to his studies, she doubted he had researched the pokémon in depth like she had. "As you know, Riolu are particular about the trainers they will bond with. This is because – " whatever else she was going to say was cut-off as the two Riolu in front of them started talking to them. While the two trainers could not understand their speech, it was obvious by the tone of their voice and their body language that whatever they were saying was urgent.

"Riolu! Riolu! RIOLU!" Ash exclaimed sternly causing the two pokémon to finally quieten down and listen to the two trainers. "I'm sorry, but we cannot understand what you two are saying. Now, I am releasing my Kadabra. One of you will tell him what is wrong and he can translate it for us. Only one of you!" he said sternly. "Is that clear?" he asked causing the two baby pokémon to nod.

"Good. Now, come on out Kadabra." Ash released the psychic pokémon as the two Riolu conversed with each other. Once Ash informed the psi pokémon of the situation, the Riolu in front of Ash started talking to him.

' _There is something going on in the Pokémon Tower there,'_ he communicated to the two trainers while pointing to the huge tower visible from where they were standing. _'The two Riolu can feel the aura of the wild pokémon there. They are feeling scared and helpless. At the same time, there are trainers battling there doing their best to help the wild pokémon, but they are slowly being overwhelmed by the numbers. The most disturbing thing is they are saying the aura of their opponents is ruthless and malicious. You know what this is pointing towards, don't you?'_

"What is it pointing towards?" asked a confused Cynthia. "Ash?" she asked in alarm. "Ash, what's wrong?" she asked as she saw the myriad of emotions passing through his face. Fear, apprehensiveness, a tinge of anticipation, and beneath all that, an anger and hatred beyond anything she had ever seen on the usually kind-hearted boy's face.

"Team Rocket!" Ash said in anger. He had both looked forward to and at the same time, was extremely apprehensive about coming face-to-face with the criminal organisation again. He was anticipating the upcoming fight to pay them back for what happened to the poor Bulbasaur. Simultaneously, he dreaded an encounter with Team Rocket as it usually left him and his pokémon battered, on the verge of death, and with severe heartache.

"The criminal organisation?!" she exclaimed in shock. "You mean they are attacking the wild pokémon at the Pokémon Tower?" she asked getting affirmatives from the three pokémon. "Then what are we waiting for? We have to go help them!" she exclaimed getting affirmative cheers from the two Riolu.

As the three started running towards the Tower, Ash finally snapped out of his thoughts. "Wait!" he shouted, causing the three to look back at him impatiently.

"What is it, Ash? We need to help the wild pokémon and we don't have time to spare," she chastised him softly. Truthfully, she couldn't believe that Ash was behaving like this. The boy she had met more than two weeks ago, and had gotten to know quite well since then, would have been the first to rush in to help the wild pokémon.

"I know that," he snapped back at her. "But Team Rocket is not some random criminal organisation that we can defeat. They are not like Damian. They have earned their tag as a dangerous criminal organisation who can challenge the League! Do you not believe me?" he asked furiously. "Look!" he exclaimed as he lowered the collar of his jacket and showed Cynthia the scar over there. "This is from a Crobat's poison bite the first time I encountered Team Rocket. The wound would have killed me if not for the League's intervention at the last second! The next time I encountered them led to the death of more than ten pokémon along with the sexual assault of their trainer! Right In Front Of My Eyes!" he shouted at her.

Ash could not believe Cynthia's nerve in chastising him, as if he didn't want to help the wild pokémon. His emotions, already frayed at the mention of Team Rocket, got the better of him subconsciously. However, on seeing her stricken expression, he realised what he was doing and took a few deep breaths to reign in his temper. Kadabra's gentle ministrations helped him as the psychic energy soothed him. Was he using a form of the Calm Mind technique? Ash mentally shelved the idea so that he could look into at a later time.

"Look, I'm sorry for shouting at you. I was taking out my temper at Team Rocket on you." He sighed explosively. "I positively loathe Team Rocket but we can't go in there without a plan. If we do, neither us nor our pokémon will be safe," he said as he stared at her helplessly, pleading with her to understand his point of view.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I should have realised that something was wrong when you didn't rush in to help the wild pokémon like I was doing. But," and here her expression turned fierce, "we cannot leave the wild pokémon to fend for themselves. You said that we couldn't rush in without a plan? Then let's make one right now!" she finished passionately.

"Ri! Ri!" the two Emanation pokémon pumped their fists up in response to her words trying to encourage the raven-haired boy as well.

"And that is what we will do!" he said as he pulled out his PokeNav. "Lance gave me his number in case of emergencies after the first time I encountered Team Rocket. Let's let him know what's happening here!" he said in excitement at the thought of the members of the criminal organisation facing the most powerful trainer in the Region.

"Oh, that would be wicked!" she agreed.

Ash put the call on speaker as they waited for the champion to pick up the phone. The phone continued ringing for a while leading Ash to believe that Lance must be too busy to pick up the phone at the moment. Just as he was going to disconnect it and call a Gym Leader, the champion picked up the call.

"Ash," he acknowledged, none of the usual cheer in his voice. "I take it you are calling me to report an attack by Team Rocket?"

"How did you know that?" the trainer from Pallet Town asked in surprise.

"Because it's not the first call I am getting today. Team Rocket has launched an attack panning the entire Kanto Region today," he said, leading to Ash and Cynthia exchanging worried looks. "So, where are you calling from?"

"We are in Lavender Town," Cynthia said when it looked like Ash was too worried to respond. "They are launching a massive attack on the Pokémon Tower. I was going to go help them, but Ash convinced me that informing you and asking for instructions is the best choice of action."

"Oh, Cynthia! You are here as well." Lance said in surprise as he saw the trainer from the Sinnoh Region. "That is good news, as it makes my next plan of action easier. We are stretched too thin at the moment and don't have many men left to spare. I will divert as many people as I can to Lavender Town. Any," he started saying before he stopped and sighed. With a feeling that it was paining him immensely to say the next few words, he continued. "Any help the two of you can provide will be helpful. In normal circumstances, I would never ask the two of you to do this, but we don't have much of a choice. And I'm sure the two of you can take care of yourselves and each other."

"You can count on us!" Ash said passionately, as Cynthia nodded along.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "We won't let anything happen to the wild pokémon!"

"I know!" Lance acknowledged and a small smile appeared on his face for the first time since the conversation started. "Stand near the Pokémon Centre. You will meet the Ace Trainers there."

"We are already standing there. Lance, can you ask them to hurry? From what we can tell, the Ace Trainers in the Tower won't last too long in battle," Ash relayed what Kadabra had told him right now. The Riolu could feel the auras of the pokémon battling Team Rocket dwindling as only the most powerful were left battling. They, too, would be defeated soon as the opposition's numbers were too high.

Lance looked at Ash sharply wondering how he was able to say that since he was standing near the Pokémon Centre, but let it go for now since now wasn't the time for explanations. He did acknowledge Ash's point, and commented, "Don't worry. They'll be coming ASAP." Saying that, he disconnected the call.

Ash put the PokeNav back in his backpack and released the rest of his pokémon other than Rhyhorn. The pokémon had curious looks on their face as they saw that they were still in the city. "Hey, everyone," Ash said getting their attention. "Those two are Riolu," he pointed at the two Emanation pokémon who were staring at Ash's pokémon with curiosity and a bit of awe. "They are really brave pokémon who found out that the wild pokémon at the Pokémon Tower are being attacked by Team Rocket." On saying those words, Ash's pokémon other than Growlithe became serious. They knew how grave this situation was. "We have been tasked to help the League save the wild pokémon, so the next time I call you guys out, be ready for the fight of your lives," he finished solemnly getting nods from all his pokémon other than Growlithe who was still confused.

He returned all his pokémon other than his starter and the puppy pokémon and turned to Cynthia. "You should give your pokémon the same warning," he advised. "Meanwhile, Pikachu can explain to Growlithe, the two Riolu, and your pokémon on what to expect in the battle."

"That's a good idea, Ash." Saying this, she released her pokémon giving them the same warning that Ash had given his pokémon. After that, Pikachu spent the next couple of minutes explaining what Team Rocket had done and what they are capable of doing. Once he was done, all pokémon had grave expressions on their face as they finally understood the gravity of their situation.

"Growlithe," Ash said as he looked at his newest pokémon. "I know that I only caught you a week ago and that this battle may be too difficult for you. Do you want to battle Team Rocket?" he asked, getting an affirmative yip from the small puppy. "Are you sure?" Ash pressed. "There is no shame in saying no. Kadabra sat out of the first battle against Team Rocket as well since he was too young at that time."

However, the Growlithe was adamant on his decision. Whether it was his past as the pokémon of an abusive trainer or the protective instincts of the species, he wanted to protect the wild pokémon. It could be a combination of both. "Very well," Ash conceded. "But if the battle is too much for you, I am withdrawing you from the battle. And that is final." Growlithe gave a grudging nod at that before Ash put him back in his pokeball.

Looking over, he saw that Cynthia was having a similar discussion with her Pidgey. After all, one thing they had found out over the previous week was how similar they were in their approach to life. And no pokémon battle was worth risking the lives of the pokémon in their family. Seeing that she was done with her discussion, he asked her to join him in speaking to the Riolu. She nodded her head in agreement, already having an idea on what Ash wanted to discuss with the two Emanation pokémon.

"Hi, once again, you two," Ash said as he squatted down to their level and started the conversation.

"The people who will help us protect the wild pokémon will be joining us soon," Cynthia said as she joined Ash, squatting down next to him. "As you have no doubt heard, the upcoming battle will be difficult and violent."

"From the looks of the two of you, we can say that you two are young, barely a few months old. Are we wrong?" Ash asked, getting a shake of the head from the two pokémon. "You two have done brilliantly in bringing this to our attention. But, this battle will be way beyond your level. Why don't you sit it out?"

The two Riolu just shook their heads and stared at the trainers with determination. They had made up their mind and nothing was going to change it. They communicated that to the two trainers with yips and barks while pumping their fists.

"Riolu," Cynthia interjected gently. "We know you want to protect the wild pokémon. Your aura is affecting you right now because you can feel the emotions of the pokémon under attack. But you two have done your jobs. You have brought it to our attention, probably sensing that the battle in the Tower is above your levels, correct?" On getting two nods, she continued. "Now, trust us to finish what you have started. We will protect the wild pokémon. And we will save them. This, we promise."

"She's telling the truth," Ash continued just as gently as her. "How do you think the wild pokémon will feel, knowing that you got hurt protecting them? So, please, trust us to protect the wild pokémon. Trust us when we say that the battle will be too difficult for you. Trust us to protect the two of you as well," he finished as he started petting one of the Riolu's on its head.

"Yes, please, trust us," Cynthia pleaded as she, too, started petting the other Riolu, getting a pleased purr from it. The two Riolu exchanged looks before they started gesturing at the two trainers. They pointed at them before saying their name. They then pointed at themselves before throwing a punch.

"Do you want us to command you during the battle?" Ash asked, getting a nod from the Riolu he was petting. The other Riolu also looked at Cynthia with resolve.

"Riolu, I don't think this is the correct – " Cynthia started saying before Ash interrupted her.

"Alright, we will help you in the battle," Ash said before shooting a placating look at Cynthia who had turned to him in anger. "But," he continued sternly, "this means that you will have to follow what we say," getting two nods from the now happier Emanation Pokémon. "And if we tell you to fight a weaker pokémon, you will listen to us," he said getting another set of nods. "And if we tell you the battle is too dangerous and ask you to withdraw, you will listen to us," he finished.

Cynthia nodded in agreement from beside him. When the two Riolu looked to argue, she continued, "This is our final offer, Riolu," she said sternly. "Either you take this, or we will be forced to knock the two of you unconscious and keep you away from the battle. If you think that is going to be difficult, think again. I don't mean to insult you, but it will be easy for any one of our pokémon to defeat you."

The two Riolu stared at the trainers defiantly before nodding in grudging acceptance. They had seen how powerful the pokémon of these two trainers are, and had no reservation in who would emerge the victor if they were to battle them. As soon as they gave their acceptance, the two trainers continued petting them behind their ears leading to two pleased purrs from the pokémon. It came to an end, however, when the air around them started being displaced before two powerful Alakazam materialised along with six trainers.

The five Ace Trainers were trailing behind a very recognisable figure. A tall and muscular man, he had his long, black hair tied in a ponytail. He wore white, tattered trousers held up by a black belt and was shirtless.

"Bruno!" Ash exclaimed in surprise at seeing the Elite Four member. "What are you doing here? I thought Lance said that you guys were stretched too thin and could not spare a lot of people?" he said in a questioning tone.

"Ash, Cynthia," the martial artist acknowledged them before spotting the two Emanation pokémon. "Ah, Riolu! That explains why you could sense what is happening in the Pokémon Tower from here. I'm guessing these two are the reasons you know about the attack?" On getting affirming nods, he continued. "And Lance was correct, we are stretched thin. Which is why we've gone for quality over quantity. As for why I am here, Team Rocket probably has an abundance of dark-type pokémon to catch the ghosts that live here. And the best way to combat them is,"

"Is through fighting-type pokémon," Ash finished for him.

"Exactly! And since I am the foremost expert in fighting-type pokémon, here I am. Now, come on! We're wasting time," he commented while shooting the two Alakazam a look.

The two Alakazam didn't respond to his silent command but the air was suddenly filled with power. A second later, the group of trainers and pokémon found themselves in front of the entrance to the Tower. The sounds of battle could be heard from outside. However, the two Riolu immediately perked up and started talking to Ash and Cynthia.

"The Ace Trainers have been defeated," Bruno translated. "I've trained a Riolu, so understanding them comes easy to me. Now, get ready, we're entering a battle."

On seeing the determined expressions on the faces of the trainers behind him, Bruno slammed open the doors. There was no point in using subtlety with the numbers of their enemies. The scene that greeted them was not nice to look at. Hundreds of dark-type pokémon were out herding the ghost-type pokémon into a corner. That corner had a machine which was somehow trapping and paralysing the ghosts making them ripe for catching. The four Ace Trainers were bound in one corner, defeated.

At their entrance, the members of Team Rocket turned to look at them. On seeing them, one of them shouted, "It's the League!"

"Don't let them scare you," another shouted. "We've beaten them before, we can beat them again!" he shouted getting cheers from the rest of the members of the League.

Bruno, however, stood firm. "Ash, Cynthia, stay back for now. Rob, go check on your fallen members and see if you can glean any information from them. They should not have been defeated by such low level trainers, especially so soon. Something else is going on. Find out what it is. The rest of you, let's go!" he finished with a shout releasing a trio of Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Hitmontop.

With affirmative shouts, the rest of the Ace Trainers also released their pokémon and the battle started in earnest once again. Bruno's pokémon were a sight to behold. The ease with which they were defeating their opponents was terrifying. Even with the type weakness their opponents had, seeing each pokémon getting knocked out in one hit was scary to watch and it showed the two rookie trainers how much further they had to go in their journeys before reaching the level of a member of the Elite Four or the Champion of the region.

The Ace Trainers were not idle either as they too released a variety of fighting-type pokémon to combat the pokémon of Team Rocket. However, it looked like the members of the criminal organisation were not idiots as they started releasing numerous flying-type and psychic-type pokémon to help their dark-type ones.

In response, the wild ghosts banded together and started helping the League trainers in defending their home as they re-joined the battle. The entire hall was filled with the sounds of battling as different types of energies clashed, producing a cacophony of noise that grated the ears of the trainers.

"I don't even know what's going on," Cynthia commented as she cringed from the sound of a Shadow Ball clashing with a Psybeam.

"Ri! Riolu!" the two Riolu complained as they put their hands over their ears, trying to block the sound from the warzone in front of them.

"It's okay, you two," Ash said gently as he once again squatted down to their level. "You do not have to join the battle here." He hastened to continue his sentence as he once again saw the two pokémon getting ready to argue with him. "I have a plan for the two of you. I'll run it by Bruno and if he approves, we'll find a way to keep the two of you safe while letting you help in the battle."

After reassuring them, he looked up to see Bruno release his fourth pokémon – a massive Machamp – who immediately joined the fray with what looked like Close Combat. Each punch and kick was precisely and brutally delivered, and immediately, a score of pokémon were knocked unconscious. Did Ash mention how scary Bruno's pokémon were? At the same time, the air started smelling putrid as some of the ghost-type pokémon started using poison-type attacks to slow down the advance of Team Rocket. When the flying-type pokémon started producing gusts of air to blow back the poison, the air became charged with ozone as numerous bolts of lightning lit up the hall and numerous bird pokémon shrieked in agony at the electricity coursing through their body.

"Sir!" Rob said as he made his way back to Bruno with the defeated Ace Trainers from before. "These members of Team Rocket are here to stall for time. They have already captured a good number of ghosts. Any ghost they catch now is just a bonus. On top of that, these members are being led by Executive Ariana and two people that are called Apprentices. They have gone on ahead to steal some kind of orb that is rumoured to be protected here."

Bruno scowled heavily before he took a deep breath and let it out. Once he did so, his expression became calm once again as he regained control of his emotions. "Alright. Do you still have your pokémon with you? Or have they, too, been stolen?" he asked the Ace Trainers who recently joined their party.

"Our pokémon are with us. However, they are in no condition to battle," one of them replied.

"Good. Here, take this," the Elite Four member said as he took out a capsule that then transformed into a briefcase. "This box contains many Revives and Full Restores. Use them to restore your pokémon. Then join the fight against the grunts. I will leave my Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, and Machamp behind to help you. Ash, Cynthia, you two will come with me. We'll go after Ariana and these Apprentices."

The two rookie trainers nodded in agreement, the both of them ready for the upcoming fight. Before they left, Ash presented his idea to Bruno.

"Bruno, I have an idea for this fight. Like how you are leaving four pokémon here, I can also leave my Floette. Her fairy attacks will provide some long-range support while barely harming the fighting-type pokémon."

"If you think you will not need her later on, then please, go ahead. It's a good idea," Bruno nodded with approval at the smart thinking of one of the most promising rookie trainers seen for many years in the Kanto region.

Ash just grinned in response before sending out Floette. He instructed her to provide support to the fighting-type pokémon and help them in whatever way she can. He then addressed the two wild Riolu once again.

"Now, I have a very important task for the two of you. I want you to stay next to Floette and protect her. When she starts attacking the pokémon of Team Rocket, they will undoubtedly target her. When they do so, I want the two of you to do your best in shielding her. If any enemy comes close to her, you two knock it back. Can you do that for me?" he asked getting two resolute nods from the Emanation pokémon.

Once that was decided, the three of them began running deeper into the Pokémon Tower. The grunts tried to stop them but they were no match for the might of Bruno's Machamp. Once they cleared the battlefield, Cynthia turned towards Ash.

"That was a good idea, Ash. You found a way to keep the Riolu involved in the fight while keeping them in the least danger possible."

"She's right. That was good thinking," Bruno said in an approving voice. "As you know, Riolu are unique pokémon where they can feel the aura of the pokémon around them. This leads them to try to protect the other pokémon when they are in danger. Unfortunately, these two Riolu you found are too young for battle. Finding a way to make them feel useful while protecting them was a stroke of genius."

"I just wanted to help them," Ash admitted. "Anyway, we have a huge battle ahead of us. If the rumours are to be believed, an Executive is one of the leaders of Team Rocket and is as tough as a Gym Leader."

"And the two Apprentices do not sound like a joke either," Cynthia commented. "They have to be strong trainers to have gotten a title like that."

"You two need to be careful. If the two Apprentices are too tough, try to stall for as much time as possible. I will try to finish my battle against Ariana as quickly as I can and come help you."

The conversation ended there as the trainers concentrated on getting to their destination as soon as possible. Hearing the sound of battle ahead, they increased their efforts to get to the Team Rocket Elites. On reaching their destination, they came across an odd site. They saw three trainers with their pokémon out as they were battling against ghost-type pokémon. However, they were not any normal ghost-type pokémon.

The first was a Gengar who didn't look like a normal Gengar. A portion of its body had sunk into the ground. Its lower portions also had a purplish tinge to it and there was a third eye on its forehead. There were more spikes on its back and the spikes had spread to its hands and tail as well.

On its side was a unique looking Banette. For one, it had additional zippers on its body, the most prominent one being the diagonal zipper that ran across its face. Three of them were unzipped showing a part of its body. One can see its three purple fingers and two purple legs. As with the Gengar, the Banette had more spikes on its body than normal.

And if these two were not bizarre enough, there was a weird Sableye as well. Somehow, the jewel normally present on its chest had detached and grown significantly in size, leaving a small hole in its chest where the jewel normally sits. Its eyes were an eerie crimson-red leaving the two rookie trainers distinctly unsettled.

Helping them battle against Team Rocket were a Spiritomb and an Aegislash. At least these pokémon looked normal. However, there was no doubting the power exuded by the ghost-type pokémon for the five of them were battling against three of the stronger trainers of Team Rocket and were doing quite well if the frustrated faces of the members of Team Rocket were any indication.

The frustrated expression on Ariana's face increased when she caught site of Bruno and his two companions. "Joseph! Molly! Take care of those kids quickly and then go after that orb. I'll hold Bruno off!" she said. Confident she may be in her abilities, she knew that she was no match for a member of the Elite Four, especially the one who defeated four of Lance's pokémon the last time the two of them battled in a six-on-six tournament.

"You won't be defeating us this easily!" Cynthia snapped back as she removed a few berries from her backpack and tossed them to the five ghost pokémon. "Here, these berries will help restore your energy," she said causing Ariana to snarl in response. "Eat them and go back to protecting whatever it is that these people want to steal. If we cannot defeat them, you will be the last line of defense, so rest as much as you can till then."

"Excellent idea, Cynthia!" Bruno exulted as he sent out his Lucario. "Enough talking, let's start this battle already!"

"So, you think you can defeat us?" the boy, Joseph, sneered. "I am the Apprentice of Executive Petrel. I will not be defeated by two kids like you! Let's show them their place, Nidorino!" he shouted as he sent out the Poison Pin Pokémon.

"And I am the Apprentice of Executive Ariana," Molly said. "And since she has tasked us to defeat you as soon as possible, I'm afraid this battle will be extremely short. Let's burn these idiots, Magmar!"

"Let's do this, Gabite!"

"Umbreon, I choose you!"

"Nidorino, use poison sting on that Umbreon and poison it!"

"Magmar, use Flame Burst!"

However, to their shock, the two rookie trainers just smirked at their orders. The bond the two had developed over the past two weeks allowed them to understand what the other was thinking. This led to them predicting what move their partner would use and form a strategy accordingly.

"Block the Poison Sting, Umbreon! It can't hurt you."

"Gabite, Dig! Get close to Magmar and finish it."

"And be careful of its flame body," Ash added. Cynthia frowned as she realised that both of their opponents could cause a status effect if a pokémon came in contact with them, with Nidorino's Poison Point and Magmar's Flame Body. She focused back on the battle as the pokémon followed the orders given to them.

A roaring ball of fire came out of Magmar's mouth towards Gabite who had already tunnelled underground. The fire burst causing some of the embers to be pelted into Umbreon, who stood there as if the attacks didn't bother her at all. At the same time, numerous purple-coloured pins shot towards the Moonlight pokémon who simple blocked them with a glowing tail, the steel of the Iron Tail nullifying the effects of the poison-type attack.

"Oh no you don't! Nidorino, use Bulldoze!"

"As if I would let you! Umbreon, Quick Tail!"

The Nidorino was fast, showing just how well trained it was. However, its speed was nothing compared to Ash's pokémon, who had trained his Umbreon's speed since she was an Eevee. The Poison Pin Pokémon had managed to jump into the air to initiate the Bulldoze but Umbreon was on it in a flash and smacked it out of the air with a thunderous Iron Tail.

"Don't let it rest, Umbreon! As long as you attack it with Iron Tail, it can't poison you. Smash it once more and finish it with a Shadow Ball!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Molly snarled. "Magmar, brace yourself for the hit and smash that Umbreon with a Brick Break!"

"Nidorino, block the Iron Tail with your Horn Attack and counter with Double Kick!"

"Gabite! Once you use Dig, blast that Nidorino away! Use Dragon Rage!"

The battle was starting to become frantic as the four pokémon battled each other. First, the ground burst open as Gabite knocked Magmar into the air from below. The Spitfire pokémon grunted in pain at the super effective attack but quickly got over it and started channelling fighting-type energy into its hands.

At the same time, the Nidorino showed his power and dexterity as he blocked the Iron Tail with his horn, and in a similar manner to the Magmar, he used the momentum generated from the attack to turn his body and use a Double Kick with his hind legs. The super-effective attack connected as Umbreon had been left with no time to dodge. And showing how well the two Apprentices fought together, the attack also sent Umbreon right into the path of Magmar's descent.

This, however, meant that the Nidorino had no time to dodge or even brace himself as a pink-coloured swirling ball of power slammed into his side causing him to roar in agony. Ash wasn't idle either. Seeing the Magmar poised to deal what would most probably be the knockout blow for his Umbreon, he immediately countered.

"Dodge the attack, Umbreon. Use Dig."

"Finish the Magmar with another Dragon Rage," Cynthia added.

"What?" Molly asked as her Magmar ended up striking the ground with the Umbreon nowhere in sight. Her perplexity only increased when the Umbreon resurfaced a second later, smashing into her pokémon. And the perplexity turned into fear as she saw that the Dragon had already finished charging its attack and sent it into her pokémon, knocking it out. They had underestimated these two rookies and were paying the price for it as they had effectively turned the tables on them by knocking her Magmar out with perfectly executed teamwork.

"Don't get cocky," she commented as she called back her pokémon. "We may have underestimated the two of you before, but now you'll face our full might. Let's go, Serperior!" she shouted as she sent out the Regal pokémon. "Leaf Blade that Umbreon!"

"Run interference with the Gabite!" Joseph shouted at the still conscious Nidorino. How he was still able to battle after facing the brunt of a full powered Iron Tail and a Dragon Rage was anybody's guess.

"Umbreon, get out of there! Use Dig!"

"Gabite! Block Serperior's path with Ember!"

However, it was in vain as the events of the previous battle played out here, only for the other team. While Umbreon may be fast, Serperior was on a whole other level. The species was fast in general, but this one was very well trained and it showed as the pokémon just barrelled through the Ember attack as if it was nothing and was upon the Moonlight pokémon before it could dig itself out of trouble. The Leaf Blade struck her causing her to cry out in pain as she was sent flying back to Ash.

"Umbreon," he cried out in worry. Gabite tried to help her but its path was blocked by the poison-type pokémon. It was obvious that it was stalling for time until the Serperior had defeated the Umbreon. However, like the Nidorino, Umbreon was not one to lose so easily. She flipped over and landed on her feet sending out numerous star-shaped beams at the regal pokémon.

The stars honed in on it, and no matter its speed, they all struck it. The power of the attack showed as it was sent a couple of feet back, but the grass-type pokémon just shook its head, no worse for wear. It opened its mouth, charging a green-coloured attack that was in the shape of a ball and shot it towards the Umbreon who stood her ground admirably in the face of a more powerful foe as she sent a Shadow Ball at the Energy Ball causing the two attacks to battle it out.

The two attacks met in the middle. However, the Energy Ball was more powerful than the Shadow Ball and started pushing the two attacks towards the Moonlight Pokémon. But, Umbreon had shown her craftiness as she angled her attack at the base of the Energy Ball. This caused the two attacks to rise into the air. As a result, when the two attacks exploded close to the dark-type pokémon, it didn't cause any damage to her as they had exploded safely above her head.

"Damn it!" Molly shouted when she saw that another attack had failed. "Wrap around that Umbreon and squash it!"

Knowing that his pokémon would be too slow to dodge the attack, Ash did the only thing he could. Cause as much damage before calling back his pokémon. "Brace yourself, Umbreon. When it wraps around you, use Bite! Weaken it as much as you can!"

And that was what happened. The regal pokémon wrapped itself around the dark-type pokémon and started squeezing her. However, she showed the battling spirit that had caused her to leave her nest and travel the world with Ash. She refused to show any signs of pain and viciously bit down on her opponent. This continued for a few seconds as the Serperior tried to squash her, while she continued trying to bite a chunk of its body.

Never had Ash been more relieved that his Eevee had evolved into an Umbreon. The latter were well known for their high defense and special defense, along with a really high amount of health. She had the makings of being the perfect "tank pokémon", which is why Ash had sent her out to battle first. This allowed her to continue fighting long past what Eevee would have been able to. And her persistence paid off, as off to the side, Gabite roared in victory. The precious time that Umbreon had been able to gain had been enough for the Cave pokémon to finally defeat the weakened Nidorino.

Roaring in victory, it sent another pink-coloured ball of energy before Joseph could send out his next pokémon. The attack slammed into Serperior's face causing it to lose its concentration, finally freeing Umbreon. The dark-type pokémon made full use of that as her body got covered in a glow before she shot off at Serperior and flipped herself before slamming its face with an Iron Tail, creating some much-needed separation.

The two seconds in which these attacks struck were all the respite the two rookie trainers got as Joseph sent out his next pokémon – a powerful looking Noctowl.

"How much time do you need to knock out that Umbreon?" he shouted at his partner. "My Nidorino is down and your Serperior is looking worse for wear. I'll distract that Gabite. For fucks sake, defeat that Umbreon now."

"You don't need to tell me twice," she snarled back, absolutely furious at the amount of damage her starter had taken against an obviously weaker pokémon. "Serperior, finish this! Slam!"

"Noctowl, use Extrasensory! Distract that Gabite. Don't let it help the Umbreon."

Cynthia and Ash shared a look to convey their thoughts for the upcoming battle. Giving Ash a nod, Cynthia shouted at Gabite, "Dual Chop! Knock that Noctowl out of the sky!"

"Umbreon, the Serperior is already weak. Shadow Ball!"

Noctowl's eyes glowed gold and it opened its beak, releasing a multi-coloured circular beam with white crescents around it at Gabite. The Cave pokémon simply sidestepped the attack and rushed towards the Owl pokémon at a fast speed with its claws glowing green. The owl tried to fly into the air to dodge the attack but the Gabite was much quicker, and the Dual-Chop landed on its mark.

Gabite, who was running on autopilot by now, opened its mouth and charged yet another Dragon Rage. The swirling ball of energy smashed into Noctowl before it could recover, causing the owl to screech in pain.

At the same time, the Serperior smashed its tail into the Umbreon. The moonlight pokémon, already weakened heavily, was too tired to even attempt to get out of the way. Knowing that she was about to lose the battle, she gave one last burst of effort as her Shadow Ball smacked Serperior at the same time as its tail smacked into her, finally knocking her out.

Ash, having learnt from the mistake Joseph had made a minute ago, already had the pokeball of his next pokémon in his hand before Serperior had even started its attack. Not allowing the opponents to team up on Gabite, he sent out his pokémon.

"Your opponent is weak, just a little more! Go Growlithe, use Flamethrower!"

The Puppy pokémon immediately came out ready to battle. He knew that Ash did not want him involved in this battle, but after hearing what Team Rocket was capable of, he could not sit on the side-lines. He was determined to give it his all, and that led to his hottest and most powerful Flamethrower being sent at the Serperior.

"Damn it, Serperior! Get out of there!" Molly shouted in worry. Her starter quickly leaped out of the way, more than wary of the fire. She sent a look at Joseph, the two of them communicating with each other that they needed to help each other if they were to win.

"Noctowl, use Air Slash. Keep that Growlithe away," Joseph shouted knowing that the Growlithe would be able to dodge the attacks coming from so far away.

"Serperior, go after that Gabite. Use Dragon Tail, followed by Leaf Blade!"

Meanwhile, Ash and Cynthia were also discussing a strategy.

"We need to get rid of that Serperior," Ash said. "It's really powerful."

"Agreed. Even with the amount of hits it has taken, it's still going strong. What we need is a powerful attack that can finish it off."

"Growlithe isn't strong enough to do that. And Gabite will be extremely weak if he does it."

"Taking down three pokémon, one of them being that Apprentice's starter is an achievement, even if it means Gabite will be knocked out," Cynthia said as she looked at Ash. A plan formed in their head, they gave each other a grim smile before starting its execution.

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower at the Air Slash. Blow the attack back at the bird!"

"Gabite, block the Dragon Tail with Dual Chop! Keep that Serperior in place."

Noctowl flapped its powerful wings as they glowed blue. The energy was transferred to the air in front of the bird as powerful zigzag lines of wind careened towards the puppy. At the same time, Serperior's tail glowed green as it rushed at Gabite, its charge met by the equally powerful claws of the Cave pokémon as the two powerhouses started a game of strength trying to push each other back.

Growlithe breathed out a stream of fire, whose intensity increased due to the wind being fed to it. The now more powerful stream of fire rushed towards the bird who had no time to dodge the attack and was engulfed by the flame.

"Growlithe, move! Hit Serperior with another Flamethrower!"

"Serperior, get out of there!" Molly shouted in worry while Joseph tried to see how badly his Noctowl was injured.

Serperior tried disengaging its attack but Gabite kept it in place. The puppy pokémon quickly leapt onto its back and ran all the way to its head before unleashing another stream of fire. Having heard from his trainer and his friend about how powerful the grass-type pokémon is and the importance of defeating it, Growlithe once again released a Flamethrower more powerful than ever in the hope of defeating his opponent. The Serperior roared in utter agony from receiving a super effective attack right at its face but once again, showing just how powerful it was, it refused to fall unconscious.

"Gabite, hit that Noctowl with Ember, keep it away!" Cynthia shouted as the two rookie trainers started using the strategy the Apprentices were using of separating their opponents and consequently ganging up on one of them to defeat that particular pokémon.

"Growlithe!" Ash, too, shouted as he knew the climax of this particular battle was nearing. "It's time!" and then he whispered the attack that most trainers thought to be useless, but one that could decide a doubles battle, "Use Helping Hand."

Joseph merely grit his teeth, knowing that his pokémon could not do much more than dodge the embers shooting at it. At his side, his partner was less composed. "What do you mean it's time?! What are they doing?" she asked as she didn't hear the command the boy had given his pokémon. Knowing that her starter was weak to fire-type attacks, she knew that she was in a bind.

They received their answer as the Growlithe placed one of its paws on Gabite's head and the Cave pokémon became covered in a multi-coloured aura. Recognising the attack and what the two of them were planning on doing, the two Apprentices tried their level best to disrupt their strategy.

"Noctowl! Zen Headbutt! Don't let them finish their attack!"

"Serperior, Leaf Blade!"

Serperior, recognising the panic in its trainer's voice, immediately rushed at its opponents, the Owl pokémon not far behind. Knowing that they had one chance to defeat the powerful Serperior before it could cause even more damage, Gabite started charging its most powerful Dragon Rage, the attack getting a huge boost by Growlithe's Helping Hand. And the puppy pokémon, in complete disregard of his own safety, growled a final instruction in the Gabite's ear, and leaped off the Cave pokémon's head to meet the Serperior's charge with a simple Tackle.

The fire-type pokémon, having battled against a flying-type pokémon in Pidgey every day, used the experience to his advantage. He angled his tackle in such a way that the momentum caused Serperior to be sandwiched between him and the Noctowl behind it. The momentum of their opponents' attacks was not stopped, but it was slowed down at the cost of a high amount of damage to Growlithe. And Gabite, mindful not to let the sacrifice go in vain and heeding Growlithe's last instruction, released the powerful attack on the pile caused by the three pokémon.

The attack detonated, causing a huge explosion that shook the entire building. Once the smoke died down and the debris cleared, you could see the panting Gabite standing over the knocked-out bodies of Growlithe, Noctowl, and Serperior.

"Damn it!" Molly shouted as she returned her defeated starter. "I cannot believe this. Now you've really pissed me off! Go, Sawk!"

"You guys are much better than I expected," Joseph said. "Let's see how you handle this. Go, Crawdaunt!"

Ash, meanwhile, had immediately returned Growlithe, hoping that the stasis created by the pokeball spared him from more pain. Glaring at Team Rocket, he looked to his starter on his shoulder, and said, "Ready to show them what happens when they mess with us?"

" **Pikachu Pi!** " His faithful starter replied before jumping off his shoulder and running to stand next to Gabite.

"Gabite, I know that you're tired," Cynthia said. "But I want you to weaken our opponents as much as you can, okay?" she asked getting an affirmative growl in reply.

"Sawk, finish that Gabite off. Close Combat!"

"Crawdaunt, Bubble Beam!"

Ash and Cynthia shared a glance to decide their strategy before they turned to their pokémon.

"Gabite, Dig. Then use Dual Chop!"

"Pikachu, it's time to show them our speed. Use Quick Break followed by a Thunderbolt! I want you to finish this fight as soon as possible!"

As Sawk rushed at the dragon-type pokémon, the latter quickly tunnelled underground. The former, however, just smirked in response before jumping up high and slamming into the ground. Tremors began to be felt as the ground started shaking, no doubt due to the Earthquake attack used by Sawk.

Meanwhile, a beam of energy filled bubbles left Crawdaunt's claws and shot towards Pikachu. The mouse pokémon was nowhere in sight, however, as he used his speed to flash towards the Rogue pokémon. His fist lit up with fighting-type energy and as he was going to smash into the Crawdaunt, he felt the tremors on the ground caused by the earthquake. Knowing how damaging it could be for him, Pikachu changed track and instead of using his momentum to attack Crawdaunt, he used it to make the final leap onto its back.

The earthquake was a powerful one and by the roars of pain of Gabite, it certainly affected him. However, it also had the side effect of harming Crawdaunt as well, as the crab was also affected by the attack. It didn't help that once the tremors stopped, the Pikachu on his back let loose an extremely powerful Thunderbolt. The power behind that attack honestly surprised the Apprentices; they had never seen such a powerful bolt from such a tiny pokémon before. The Crawdaunt squealed in pain as the electricity coursed through its body as the tiny mouse kept up the attack until his opponent fainted.

While this was going on, an extremely weakened Gabite made his way to the surface. It tried to form a Dragon Rage to shoot at its opponent, but Sawk didn't give it a chance and closed the distance to use Close Combat. Every punch and kick weakened the dragon before the pain became too much and it fainted as well.

"What the hell was that? That Pikachu is powerful!" Joseph said in disbelief as he called back his pokémon. "I've never seen Crawdaunt lose so quickly. Well, it doesn't matter. Let's go Electabuzz!"

At the same time, Cynthia was fervently praising her Gabite, before she sent out her next pokémon, her recently caught Pidgey, before grimacing at Joseph's next pokémon.

"Ha, this will be easy," Molly said. "Sawk, use Brick Break against that Pikachu!"

"Electabuzz, use Shockwave. Knock that Pidgey away."

"Ha! Did you think it will be this easy?" Ash scoffed. Pikachu was his starter pokémon, and his most trusted one for a reason. There is no way the Apprentices were defeating him so easily. "Pikachu, block the Brick Break with Thunder Punch, and then use thunder Wave!"

"Pidgey, use Gust!"

The beam of electricity from Electabuzz was the first to reach its opponents. However, even if Shockwave is supposed to never miss its target, the beam suddenly veered away from the bird pokémon and struck Pikachu who didn't even flinch. At the same time, Pikachu met Sawk's attack with his own. The two pokémon struggled to overpower one another before Pikachu broke contact. He used the small distance between them to release a small wave of electricity that succeeded in paralyzing his opponent, a severe handicap for a pokémon that relied on its movement to carry out its attacks.

Before the karate pokémon could do anything else other than grimace at the feeling of the paralysis, strong gusts of wind started striking it on its side. It grunted in pain at the super effective attack, but wasn't damaged too much due to how weak the Pidgey was in comparison to it.

"What the hell just happened?" Molly shouted in surprise. "How did they manage to divert the Shockwave?"

"Lightning Rod!" Joseph groaned in reply. "Any electric attack we use will be automatically directed to the Pikachu, who won't be affected by it. Most of Electabuzz's attacks are useless."

Molly just grimaced in response as the two rookies had somehow managed to turn the battle to their advantage once again. "Doesn't matter, keep the Pikachu occupied. I'll take care of the Pidgey. Sawk, use Rock Tomb on the bird. Knock it out of the sky!"

"Electabuzz, use Quick Attack! Take Pikachu away from the other battle."

"Let it be, Ash. Take care of the Electabuzz, let me take care of the Sawk. As long as Pikachu and Electabuzz battle each other, it is a one-on-one battle for me. And I can take care of myself. Pidgey, use Quick Attack to dodge the rocks and hit the Sawk with another Gust!"

"As you wish. Pikachu, let's show that Electabuzz who the stronger electric pokémon is!" Ash shouted with enthusiasm as the two powerful, electric-types clashed. From there, the battle quickly became a scrap. Pikachu and Electabuzz were not able to do too much damage to each other because of their typing. At the same time, Pidgey couldn't do too much damage to Sawk due to how weak it is while Sawk was struggling with a paralysis and a bird capable of dodging all of the attacks it was throwing at it.

The Pidgey had to run out of luck at some point, and that is what happened when one of the rocks thrown by Sawk's rock tomb finally struck it causing it to squawk in pain. Knowing that Pidgey was now on the backfoot and couldn't take too many hits, Cynthia cried out her encouragement for the bird pokémon.

It seemed to have worked as the bird was covered in a white glow before its body started changing. The body started growing in length, its height started shooting up, and its wings doubled in size before the glow stopped. The battle had managed to push Pidgey enough to evolve it into a Pidgeotto. The bird cried out in triumph before flapping its wings once again. This time, its wings glowed blue, and reminiscent of the Noctowl earlier, zigzag lines of energy flew into the Sawk.

However, it only delayed the inevitable. The difference in power between the Sawk and the Pidgeotto was too great. All Pidgeotto managed to do was cause more damage to the Sawk before it was finally defeated, after being hit by the more powerful Rock Slide.

"You did well, Pidgeotto. I am so proud of you. Now, the Sawk is weak. Let's finish this, Eelektrik! Start off with a Thunderbolt!" she instructed. At her side, Ash gave her a look of panic before he said, "What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"

"Why would you say that?" she asked in confusion. Her confusion, however, was cleared when Eelektrik's attack veered away from Sawk and struck Pikachu. Oh, right. His lightning rod ability. How could she forget? She thought in embarrassment.

"Brilliant!" Molly shouted. "This is our chance! Sawk, use Earthquake!"

"What the hell?" her partner shouted in response. "Earthquake has already played a part in the defeat of Crawdaunt, and now you're using it on Electabuzz as well!"

"I don't care," was her response. "You remember Mistress Ariana's instruction, right? We've already wasted too much time on this battle. We need to finish it as soon as possible."

At the same time, Cynthia started countering her mistake. "Eelektrik, use Acrobatics!"

The EleFish pokémon glowed a light blue before running so fast that it left behind two after images. It then tackled Sawk. The karate pokémon, however, was not giving up so easily. Protecting itself the best that it could, Sawk knew that it had little time left before being defeated. Thus, it poured all of its remaining energy into creating as big an earthquake as it could. The ground shook terribly as even the trainers struggled to keep a hold of their footing. When the shaking stopped and the dust created by the attack was blown away, the trainers could see all four pokémon on the ground, unconscious. It was a four-way knockout.

"Damn it all!" Joseph cursed. "I'm now down to my final pokémon."

"Stop complaining! I'm down to my last two pokémon as well. Let's just hope we've knocked out their most powerful pokémon and the remaining ones are weaker."

"I'm sorry, Ash," Cynthia apologised sincerely. "I cost us the last battle."

"Not particularly," Ash replied. "Firstly, you were treating it as a one-on-one battle, which is what it had become. The Thunderbolt was probably enough to knock the Sawk out. Secondly, she could have instructed her Sawk to use Earthquake at any time."

"True," Cynthia acknowledged. "Anyway, we have the advantage now. They have three pokémon left, while we have four."

"Is it an advantage?" Ash asked grimly. "The guy's last pokémon is probably his starter. And considering how powerful that Serperior was…"

Realisation crossed Cynthia's face before it settled on a determined expression as she mentally prepared herself for the undoubtedly difficult battle ahead. The lull in the battle passed as all four trainers called out their next pokémon.

"Let's go, Nidorina!" Molly yelled. At the same time, Ash's prediction came out to be true as Joseph sent out his starter, an Emboar.

"Spiritomb, go! Let's win this!" Cynthia yelled, while Ash sent out his most powerful pokémon – Dragonair.

"Can you distract the two of them?" Cynthia asked Ash.

"I can try, but I doubt they'll let us," was Ash's response before he spoke to Dragonair. "Use Water Pulse on that Emboar!"

"Nidorina, use Ice Beam on that Water Pulse and freeze it."

"Emboar, wait till it is frozen before smashing that Dragonair. Use Hammer Arm!"

"Spiritomb, make use of your surroundings. Disappear into the background."

As the instructions were given, Dragonair created a massive ball of water that exploded to form an equally massive wave which swept towards the Emboar. However, half way there the water was frozen by beams of light blue energy that erupted from Nidorina's horn. Once the water was frozen, Emboar charged over it and rushed at Dragonair with its arms glowing. While this was going on, Spiritomb disappeared into the background, the atmosphere at the Pokémon Tower helping it to do so.

"Dragonair, meet it with Dragon Tail, then Dragon Rage!" Ash instructed. Emboar's massive arms came down at Dragonair but were met by an equally powerful Dragon Tail. The dragon's temper had been aroused by the mere sight of Team Rocket and as they say, the angrier a dragon gets, the more powerful its attacks become.

Ash's training of channelling dragon-type energy through different parts of the body simultaneously paid off here as the dragon was easily able to charge a Dragon Rage. The attack struck Emboar at point blank range causing the pig pokémon to go flying back a few feet before it detonated. While this was happening, three silver coloured beams came from Nidorina's horn once again and struck Dragonair. The super effective attack caused the dragon damage, but instead of shouting in pain, he roared in anger causing a Twister to be formed in the air.

The twister consumed both of its opponents hiding them from view for a few seconds. When the twister died down, Dragonair had already created another ball of water that exploded into a wave of water that swept towards the Emboar. However, before it could strike its target the poison-type pokémon intercepted the attack. This allowed its partner to jump across the field covered in fire, angling its body to hit the dragon with a body slam.

"Heat Crash," Ash murmured to himself recognising the move. "Dragonair, get out of there!"

The dragon hastened to listen to the advice of his trainer as the ground he stood on previously exploded in a shower of fire and debris. Before he could do anything in response, he was struck once again by an Ice Beam from the Nidorina causing him to cry out in pain at the unexpected attack.

"Now, Emboar, use Hammer Arm!" Joseph exulted knowing the attack, coupled with the two Ice Beams it has already taken, would cause massive damage to the dragon.

However, the members of Team Rocket had forgotten about Cynthia, something she used to her complete advantage. "Spiritomb," she whispered to keep up her advantage. "Hypnosis."

As the pig pokémon was about to attack the dragon, the Forbidden pokémon suddenly appeared in front of it. Black circles came out of its body and moved towards the Emboar causing it to feel drowsy before it fell asleep. "Excellent," Cynthia praised her pokémon before deciding to finish the battle. "Use Dream Eater." As her pokémon started the super effective move, Nidorina decided to help out her partner. Her poison sting attack barely did any damage to the ghost as the pig pokémon started writhing around in pain due to the effects of the Dream Eater.

When Ash looked to see why Dragonair had not intercepted the attack, he was surprised to see parts of Dragonair's body frozen. "Dragonair, use Ember to thaw out the ice," Ash suggested knowing that the flames of the ember were too weak to cause any serious damage to the powerful dragon.

Knowing this was their chance to stop the attack and defeat Spiritomb at the same time, Molly said, "Nidorina, use Toxic." She was running out of options since the Spiritomb was highly resistant to her Nidorina's poison-type attacks. The purple sludge crept towards Spiritomb who didn't move from her spot, taking the attack and getting heavily poisoned knowing that their best bet in winning this battle was to weaken Emboar as much as possible.

And that was how the next couple of minutes went. Dragonair was still trying to thaw himself out. Emboar was writhing under the effects of the Dream Eater. Nidorina was throwing attack after attack at Spiritomb who was standing at one place taking the damage. The energy it was taking from Emboar through Dream Eater was countering the damage caused to it by the poison and the attacks of the poison-type pokémon. But one could easily see the toll taken on Spiritomb as it looked to be on its last metaphorical legs.

At this point, there was a roar of triumph as Dragonair managed to thaw himself out. Charging a swirling ball of energy, he moved from his place and shot it towards the poison-type pokémon who roared in pain at the contact. Dragonair moved to confront the poison pin pokémon leaving Spiritomb to slowly drain Emboar. Nidorina was not going down without a fight and was shooting Ice Beam after Ice Beam. However, since Dragonair didn't have to split his attention between two pokémon, he could easily dodge the attacks. it didn't take too long after that for him to defeat the Nidorina, only getting struck by an Ice Beam once during that time.

"That Dragonair is weak now," Molly shouted. "Finish it, Sneasel!" The Sharp Claw pokémon was fast, and instead of attacking Dragonair as Ash and Cynthia thought it would, it went towards the Spiritomb and suddenly disappeared before reappearing on Spiritomb's other side, its body covered by a black energy. The attack, coupled with the damage it had taken earlier and the severity of the poison, was too much for Spiritomb to endure and it was knocked unconscious.

"Great job, Spiritomb," Cynthia, praised knowing that it had weakened Emboar significantly. "Let's finish this Monferno! Use Brick Break!" she said as she sent out her starter. The playful pokémon rushed towards the Sneasel with its arms covered in a white energy as the Sneasel weaved in and out of attacks. However, the two members of Team Rocket once again found themselves at the same disadvantage as their opponents earlier in the battle as the Sneasel was struck out of the air by a powerful slam by the dragon pokémon as he struck it with a green-coloured tail.

The Dragon Tail sent the Sneasel a few feet back and allowed both its opponents to shoot fire at it. While Dragonair only sent a weak Ember, Monferno sent a powerful Flamethrower at the Sharp Claw Pokémon. Sneasel, however, showed a remarkable recovery, and sent an Ice Beam on the ground. The force of the attack allowed the dark-type pokémon to dodge the fire by going over it. This was enough time for the Emboar to finally wake up. Dazed and weakened by the long exposure to the Dream Eater, the pig pokémon roared out its frustration before bounding towards the playful pokémon. The two fire-types started battling but it was obvious who was the more powerful between the two.

A massive Hammer Arm smashed Monferno away, almost knocking it out. Dragonair rushed to help his partner and managed to strike it with yet another Dragon Rage. The distraction was enough for Sneasel to shoot another Ice Beam at the dragon, causing it to roar out in pain. Emboar, now struggling to stand, made use of Dragonair's pain by smashing him with a Hammer Arm as well. The combined damage of four super effective hits and the powerful fighting-type attack was enough to knock Dragonair out. At the same time, Monferno recovered from the damage it had taken and unleashed a massive Flamethrower at the Sneasel from behind. The Sneasel gave a pitiful wail before falling into a blissful state of unconsciousness, its charred body falling on the ground.

"Return, Sneasel," Molly snarled, humiliated at being defeated by the two kids. She knew the mission was a failure as they no longer had any pokémon to fight even a Rattata, forget the massively powerful guardians of the Pokémon Tower.

"Great work, Monferno!" Cynthia praised. "We've almost won! Just keep up at it and strike Emboar with Brick Break whenever you can!"

"Yeah, right!" Joseph scoffed. "As if your monkey can contend with Emboar. Come on, Emboar. Another Hammer Arm is all you need to win," he encouraged.

"You're right," Ash said he called back Dragonair. "On its own, Monferno cannot defeat your Emboar. But, in case you have forgotten, I still have a pokémon left! Let's finish this, Kadabra!" Ash shouted as he sent out the psi pokémon.

"Shit!" Joseph shouted. "Emboar, we need to finish this quickly. Hammer Arm on the Monferno!"

' _Teleport and intercept it with Psybeam. Keep doing that till it faints,'_ Ash told Kadabra after the latter opened a telepathic connection with his trainer. He hummed in agreement before teleporting in front of Monferno. His eyes glowed red and multi-coloured circles went out of them striking the surprised Emboar who roared in pain at suffering yet another super effective attack. Monferno jumped over Kadabra and came down at Emboar and struck it with a glowing fist as the Brick Break struck it on its head. Kadabra did not let up on the psybeam as yet another one struck the pig pokémon. This was the straw that broke the camel's back as the damage it had suffered became too much and it fell unconscious.

"Yes!" Ash and Cynthia shouted as they hugged each other in jubilation. "We won!"

"Yes, you did," came a voice behind them and they turned to see Bruno smiling proudly at them. "Excellent battle, you two. Very impressive. However, I will take it from here," he said as he instructed some Ace Trainers to come and arrest the two Apprentices.

"Bruno!" Ash said in surprise. "How long were you watching the battle?"

"Just the last five minutes. I would have jumped in to help you, but I thought you deserved the joy of winning the battle after putting so much into it."

"Well, it definitely helped," Cynthia acknowledged with a smile.

"Come on, let's get your pokémon healed," he said. "The battle here is over."

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

"So, let me get this straight," Ash said three hours later, as they sat in the pokémon centre speaking with Bruno. After the battle, the Elite Four member had taken the Team Rocket members to a League base to arrest them. Ash and Cynthia had used that time to go to Nurse Joy to get their pokémon healed. Along with the damage their pokémon had taken, Floette had been completely exhausted when Ash found her after the battle. The two Riolu were equally exhausted and had some bruises that showed the damage they had taken. They had all been given to Nurse Joy for healing, some food, and a nice, long rest.

Bruno was supposed to come back after an hour, but he showed up after three hours. He had a grim look on his face and had given abbreviated versions of the events that had occurred that day. The same news that would be told to the rest of the public the next day.

"Team Rocket attacked multiple cities at the same time," he continued. "Some were successful while the rest were thwarted. And at the end of the day, they have somehow managed to jailbreak all their captured Executives and Apprentices. Am I missing anything?" Ash asked with a sigh.

"Nothing that I can tell you, Ash," Bruno replied with a grave expression. "Team Rocket has certainly announced their presence today."

"What can we do about it?" Cynthia asked.

"Absolutely nothing!" Bruno exclaimed. "You two got lucky today. You know how dangerous Team Rocket can be. And while Team Rocket may have announced their presence today, they have most certainly not won. All that they have done in make us more vigilant. So, leave them to us."

"As you wish," Ash sighed in agreement having no wish to get involved with Team Rocket once again. He was lucky that none of his pokémon were injured too terribly with Growlithe getting the worse of the injuries. The puppy would have to spend the night with Nurse Joy to make sure that there are no complications. Cynthia, too, nodded her head in agreement since she is going back to Sinnoh the next day, so Team Rocket's plans had no impact on her. "Anyway, I had a question. When we entered that chamber in the Pokémon Tower, why did Gengar, Banette, and Sableye look different?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Bruno asked in surprise. He looked at Cynthia to see her waiting for an answer as well. "That's how those pokémon look when they Mega Evolve."

"Really?" Cynthia asked. "I thought Mega Evolution was this temporary evolution created by the bond between a pokémon and its trainer."

"I thought the same," Bruno replied. "I do not know how it is that those wild pokémon were capable of Mega Evolution, but I intend to find out," he said, giving a little lie to the kids. The truth was dangerous for a reason.

"Alright," Cynthia conceded, believing the lie. "I'm sure you have work to do, Bruno, what with the events of today." When he nodded his head in agreement, she continued, "It was nice meeting you." Ash echoed her sentiments and Bruno responded by giving the two a small smile.

"I have a gift for the two of you. With the events today, I am certain that the Riolu will challenge the two of you tomorrow. They will want to be a part of your team." When he saw that the two trainers in front of him understood, he asked them if they had a PokeNav. When they took it out, he synced his PokeNav with theirs. "The League is in too much of a disarray right now to thank you officially, so I am doing what I can. I am sending you all my files on the best way to train a Riolu and then a Lucario, the kind of food to give them to ensure their growth, the kind of attacks it can learn, and how to learn those attacks."

At their awed look, he hastened to continue. "Now, one of the major things to do to train any fighting-type pokémon is to get it a sparring partner. If they don't have one, they won't progress. I can tell you that from experience. So, it is essential that the two of you catch another fighting-type pokémon. Once you do, ping me. I will send to you the relevant files at that time."

"This is such an amazing present, Bruno! Thank you so much!" Cynthia gushed in response.

"It really is," Ash agreed. "And don't worry. We'll catch another fighting-type pokémon so that they can help train each other." Initially, Ash had only wanted to catch one fighting-type pokémon on his journey. However, if Bruno said that he needed to catch at least two fighting-type pokémon for the best results, he would catch them, no question about it.

"Great. I look forward to seeing how you utilise these resources to train your pokémon. Let's have a spar when you feel that your pokémon have advanced enough."

"Sure!" Ash said enthusiastically.

"I can't wait for it," Cynthia added.

Bruno flashed the two another smile before leaving the pokémon centre. A lot of work still had to be done.

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

 _ **In an underground facility at a secret location**_

"So, other than the heists at the prison and the Safari Zone, all of the other missions failed today," Petrel said in a smug manner knowing that he was the only Executive to complete his mission.

"That is because you had Mewtwo with you," The Boss replied. "No need to be so smug about it." On seeing his chastised face, he continued. "And all was not a bust. Proton was successful in finding out just how powerful a trainer Sabrina is."

"She's certainly at the level of Agatha," Proton replied. "Her Alakazam's power is outrageous. The only psychic pokémon that I have seen who is more powerful than her Alakazam is Mewtwo."

"Which leaves us at a conundrum," The Boss replied. "We need Mewtwo's power if we are to be successful at Saffron City. At the same time, we cannot let it know that we are stealing a pokeball powerful enough to capture it."

"And we have no means to control it either," Petrel said. "The League knows we are after the orbs now."

"Yes, they do," The Boss sighed in response. He could not blame Ariana. How could she know that Bruno would show up? The black belt could even defeat him. Ariana stood no chance against him.

"And that leaves the performances of the Apprentices. Proton, I am very happy with Robert's performance. He did spectacularly," he commented getting a nod from the Executive. "I cannot comment on the performances of Molly and Joseph since the League was involved, but if they were defeated by two Rookie Trainers, you need to increase their training."

"I will do that," Ariana agreed. "But, I feel it is important to point out that they had a couple of their more powerful pokémon knocked out by the Ace Trainers before they battled the Rookies. If that had not happened, they would have won."

"And I am not blaming them," The Boss replied. "I've just asked you to increase their training." With that over with, he turned to Archer. "You, Archer, need to drill some sense into your Apprentice's head. She attacked Pallet Town."

"So?" the psychopath responded. "Pallet Town is where that shitty trainer who caused my capture came from. So what happens if my Apprentice attacked that place? I, for one, say we reward her!"

"What happens if we attack that place?" The Boss replied with a dangerous edge to his voice as the Persian who rested her head on his lap stood up and glared at the Executive. The other Executives stepped back as they felt The Boss' anger. "I'll tell you what's wrong, you Neanderthal! That town is where Professor Oak lives. The same Professor who is a former League Champion. The same professor who can still spank Lance's team. And you want to attack his house? Have you lost your mind?" On seeing the executive rapidly shake his head in denial, The Boss took a deep breath and visibly calmed down.

"We have achieved our objective today. The whole region knows of our presence. The prison is destroyed and the entire country knows of our might. Let us enjoy our success today. We will reconvene tomorrow morning."

XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX

 _ **At a secret location, one hour after the events at the Pokémon Tower**_

"Now that everyone is here, we're starting the meeting."

"Lance, shouldn't we wait for Giovanni?" Brock asked when he didn't see the mysterious Gym Leader's presence.

"Giovanni has been acting weird lately, which is why he has not been called here. The people present in this meeting have my full confidence. Giovanni does not," the Champion replied tersely. The other Gym Leaders started murmuring to each other with an uncomfortable look on their faces. If Giovanni was culpable, it would be disastrous for the League. Like how it was today.

"Let's start with Pewter and move from there," Agatha suggested getting nods of agreement.

"Alright," Brock said. "Team Rocket attacked the Museum but they were only Grunts and that too only a few of them. I dealt with them without any issue."

"Cerulean City was not attacked by Team Rocket," Misty was next.

"Neither was Vermilion City," was Lt. Surge's contribution.

"They attacked the Celadon City Departmental Store," Erika said. "While we defeated them easily, the fight happened inside the Store. We managed to ensure that there were no injuries to the civilians. The store, however, was damaged quite heavily," she finished with a frown.

"We'll divert funds and pokémon to help restore the store. Any idea on what they were after?" he asked.

"We are certain they were after the TMs and medicines. There's nothing else they can steal from there."

"Hmm. That's true," Lance agreed.

"A group of grunts led by your cousin attacked Saffron City," Sabrina started without any prompting. If people noticed the tightening of the skin on Lance's face at the mention of his cousin, no one mentioned it. "They claimed to want to steal the pokémon from the fighting dojo. However, I doubt that was their real reason."

"And why do you think that?" Lt. Surge asked with a raised brow. It was well known that Sabrina was the smartest of the group. If she thought there was another reason, there was probably another reason.

"Because such a cause would not be led by one such as Proton. He is too powerful and important to lead a simple raid for fighting-type pokémon."

"That is true," Lance said. "And as for their real reason, I have a theory behind it, one I will explain at the end of the meeting." Getting acquiescing nods from the rest, he turned his attention to Koga.

Not seeing a way out of it, he reluctantly started talking. "Team Rocket were after the pokémon in the Safari Zone. They've cleared an entire area of pokémon."

"And why were they allowed to do that?" Lance asked. While neither his posture nor the volume of his voice changed, everyone could feel the difference in that statement. His presence filled the entire room and Koga knew he was walking on a very fine line.

"I was not alerted about the heist."

"And whose fault is that?" Lance exploded. The volume of his voice didn't change here either but the anger in his voice was palpable to all. "Ever since you lost to Lorelei, you have been sulking like a small child. No one has said anything since we thought we could let you deal with it in your own way. No longer will we tolerate that. You will put your Gym exactly where it was before you decided to behave like a two-year-old. And you will take your duties seriously. This is your last warning." When Koga nodded to say he understood, Lance turned his gaze to the last of the Gym Leaders present.

"Nothing on Cinnabar Island. Can't say I'm surprised since the island has a large number of tourists present. If anything were to happen to them, the Leagues of other countries would focus on Team Rocket as well. They definitely wouldn't want that." That made a lot of sense.

"And now we come to the towns that didn't have a Gym Leader but were attacked. The first one was on Pallet Town."

Agatha snorted in derision. "If they think they can attack the Town where Samuel Oak lives and succeed with their plans, they are even more stupid than I expected," leading to snorts from the rest of the people present there. Samuel Oak's prowess was well known across the entire pokémon world.

"Nonetheless, I'll be asking Samuel to call back his most powerful pokémon," Lance said. "If you remember Ash Ketchum from the tournament at the S.S. Anne, he was responsible for alerting us about the heist at Mt. Moon. Our efforts led us to the capture of Executive Archer. That deranged psychopath blames Ash for his capture and has been hell-bent on revenge. Since his mother lives in Pallet Town, I'll be asking her to shift to Samuel's house so that she is protected as well."

"That's a good idea," Sabrina said, her eyes faintly glowing. "I foresee an attack on her by Team Rocket in retaliation to her son's activities in foiling the plans of Team Rocket." This led to many of the people present there inhaling sharply or frowning heavily in response.

"Since we know that he will be in Lavender Town till tomorrow morning at the earliest, I will go and discuss this with him. The kid deserves to know if a deranged organisation is after his mother's life. Speaking of Lavender Town and Ash, he was responsible for foiling yet another plan of Team Rocket at the Pokémon Tower."

"The boy is a magnet for trouble," Bruno snorted. "Team Rocket was there not only to capture ghost-pokémon – something I am sorry to say they succeeded in – but they also wanted to steal some kind of orb or something. I don't know what it is, but I do know it is important. It is guarded by the strongest ghost-type pokémon in the tower. And what's more, three of them were Mega Evolved!" he exclaimed leading to noises of surprise from the rest of them. "How did a wild pokémon mega evolve? This disproves all theories we've had about mega evolution till now!"

"Not necessarily," Agatha said. "I believe I have an explanation for this phenomenon." When she had the attention of the rest of the people in the room, she continued. "The orb that the ghost-type pokémon were guarding was a part of a set. These orbs are present in all the regions in the world and they are the reason why the ghost-type pokémon are only found in those regions. It is said that if you collect all the orbs, you can create a Prison Bottle that can unbind the legendary Hoopa and control it."

"I've heard of this legend," Sabrina said. "But I thought that Hoopa was bound by a human that created a prison bottle made of three elements. Your story is different."

"What you have read occurred as well. That prison bottle is exactly as the name says. It is a prison bottle and imprisons Hoopa. As a result, the Hoopa is angry and vicious. The orbs that I am talking about create an object that allows the human and the legendary to work in harmony. These orbs have a bit of Hoopa's power in them. This power is what attracts ghost-type pokémon to live in a particular place. And the constant exposure to this energy is what caused the mega evolution of the three pokémon you saw in the Tower."

"Assuming the legend is true," Blaine started speaking when he saw that the rest of them were pensive. "Why would team Rocket go to such lengths to control a legendary?" he asked causing many others to ponder that question as well.

"I believe I have the answer to that," Lance said. "What I am telling you now is a secret only privy to the Elite Four before this." When he saw that the others understood the gravity of the situation, he continued. "Team Rocket thought that they hid what they did to the prison. What they did not know is that the prison is so well guarded that the videos recorded by all the cameras are encoded and saved every minute. It is then sent to a secure server that only one of the Elite Four can access.

While we could not see how the raid ended, we have a good idea about what went down. And the cameras caught site of this." With that, he pulled up an image of Mewtwo.

"What is that?" Agatha asked. This caused the others to be surprised. If Agatha, for all her knowledge and experience did not know what it is, it must be a unique thing.

"I don't know," Lance admitted. "And I asked Samuel and he discreetly asked the regional professors of all the other regions. No one has seen a creature like this. All we know is that it is a powerful psychic. The creature destroyed the psychic barriers present around the prison with barely any effort. It defeated any pokémon it came across with contemptuous ease. And with its power and the ability to teleport, I am quite sure that this creature is responsible for freeing the Executives and the Apprentices we caught today," he finished by running through all the clips and videos that showed the pokémon's involvement in the prison break that day.

"The kind of power levels you are describing," Sabrina started talking in a shaky voice that caused the other to be tense as the Saffron City Gym Leader was normally a picture of calm, "those levels are only reached by the legendary psychic-type pokémon."

"That was my conclusion as well," Lance finished gravely. "And while Samuel said that he doesn't recognise this pokémon, the closest match he can give us to it is Mew," leading to another round of sharp intakes of breath from the people present in the room. While Arceus is known as the God of pokémon, Mew is considered to be God in the Kanto Region, mainly because it is said that it was the New Species pokémon created this region.

"So, from what we can speculate, Team Rocket have likely created a legendary pokémon that looks similar to Mew. They are using it for their purposes and this was likely a test run. However, since they are not sure if they can control it, they are now looking for Hoopa who should theoretically be immune to its attacks. Did I miss anything?" Lorelei asked sarcastically.

"Silph Co." Sabrina said with a gasp. When the others turned to look at her, she continued. "The attack on Saffron City was a test. They wanted to see the kind of defences the city has. Their real target is Silph Co."

"And why would they target that company?" Misty asked. "And how did you make that connection from this?" she said while pointing to image of Mewtwo.

"Silph Co. has made a new type of pokeball. The pokeball is much stronger than even an Ultra Ball. It is rumoured to be powerful enough to theoretically catch even a legendary pokémon."

"And that is the conclusion I have come up with as well," Lance said. "We will be increasing the security in the building discretely. For now, it has been a long day and everyone is tired. Go back home, let the information we have gathered today sink in. Let us reconvene tomorrow evening."

As everyone nodded in agreement and started making arrangements to go back home, one thought was prevalent in the minds of everyone. Just what will the future bring?

 **A/N: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Terrible?**

 **I always found it weird that the League had absolutely no idea on what Team Rocket is doing. So, the League in my story is much more competent. Yes, there are some suspicions about Giovanni. They do not know if he is involved or not but Lance does not trust him right now. Fun fact, according to pokémon wikia, Executive Proton is mostly related to Lance. So, I just used it in this story. How did you like my twist on Hoopa?**

 **Now, I know that Riolu is probably the most cliché pokémon in fanfiction. However, it is also my favourite fighting-type, so it had to be there in the story. To compensate, Ash would catch another fighting-type pokémon as well. And I need help for that! So, give me your suggestions on which fighting-type pokémon you think Ash should catch in the next chapter and the one with the most votes will win.**

 **In fact, now that Ash has almost finished catching his first 10 pokémon, I will leave the choice to you readers about which pokémon Ash should catch from now onwards. At the end of every chapter, I will say the type of pokémon Ash is going to catch and a few options and the one with the highest votes will win.**


End file.
